When Tennis Is Not Enough
by legend.of.lola
Summary: When Kyoko and Sachi arrive back to Seigaku from half of the school year studying abroad, they reunite with the Regulars. And this time around, Kyoko is determined to make her feelings known to Ryoma.
1. Welcome Back

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter One: __Welcome Back_**

Seigaku's front gate seemed bigger since the last time Sachi and Kyoko had been there. Or at least, that's how Kyoko saw it.

Her and Sachi had gone to Seigaku the year before, and had a lot of friends, but, after not seeing anyone for a whole semester while the two girls were abroad in America, Kyoko was nervous.

She was about to voice her concerns, when Sachi stepped through the gate, looking determined.

Kyoko sighed in relief at her friend's confidence, and followed her.

"Do you think they'll remember us?" Kyoko asked, trying to match Sachi's pace. Kyoko was on the shorter side, but was used to walking with people taller than her.

"Of course they will," Sachi said. "None of them could forget me. It's impossible."

"Oh, I hope you're right."

"I usually am," Sachi added with a quick smile to Kyoko.

Kyoko smiled back as best as she could, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach when she thought of…

"Oh, look! They're playing tennis…what a surprise," Sachi said sarcastically as the two walk by the tennis courts.

Kyoko spotted the Regulars out of all the people playing almost immediately; they all looked mature compared to how they did during the summer they left.

"Oh my, they've gotten taller! Maybe they're more mature, too!" Kyoko suggested, looking at the tennis ball that had rolled by her feet.

"Hey, Echizen! You were supposed to get hit by that, not hit it out of the courts!" The girls heard someone exclaim.

They immediately recognized it as Takeshi Momoshiro's voice.

"Or maybe not…" Kyoko amended, picking up the tennis ball.

The two girls walked into the courts and were met with a variety of greetings.

"Ape boy!" Sachi exclaimed.

"Spawn of Satan," Momo exclaimed.

The two hugged.

"Well, at least you two are getting along," Kyoko said, smiling.

Momo and Sachi didn't have the best past, and constantly bickered and argued. The rest of the group had become used to this, and, much to Momo's dismay, everyone always chose Sachi's side over Momo's.

The captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka, looked at Sachi with the slightest expression of fear in his normally expressionless face.

Sachi and Kyoko noticed, but didn't point it out; they knew he'd make a comment soon enough.

"Sachi!!" one of the boys exclaimed, rushing over and hugging Sachi.

"Hey Eiji!"

Kikumaru Eiji and Sachi had always been really close, practically like a brother and sister, ever since they first met.

"It's nice to see you two again," the boy next to Tezuka said, smiling at them.

"It's…nice to see you, too Fuji," Sachi said in a little softer tone, quickly glancing at him.

"It's been a while, huh?"

"Six months, fourteen days, eleven hours," the boy with the glasses said, looking at notebook in his hands.

"Oh, hello Sadaharu," Sachi said. "Have you made any juices that I could try?"

The group winced as Sadaharu smiled and adjusted his glasses. "But of course."

The boy with the white hat stood by, listening to everyone else's greetings before he made his own.

"It's nice to see you guys again…." he said awkwardly, and fixed his hat.

Kyoko's smile broadened. "Nice to see you, too," she said, taking a quick look at him before looking at the ground.

Tezuka sighed. "Well, it was nice while it lasted," he muttered.

Sachi turned and looked at Tezuka in confusion. "I haven't done anything yet. What's wrong with me just standing here?"

"Yet. That's the key word. There's still plenty of time for you to do something wrong."

"Don't be rude, Tezuka-kun. At least wait until tomorrow to chew her out for anything she's done. We just got back, after all," Kyoko said.

"Don't provoke her, Tezuka!" Momo agreed. "I'll end up getting hurt because of it!"

"I'll be good, I swear," Sachi said, looking at Tezuka innocently. "I won't even come back until you call me and tell me you're done practicing."

Sachi turned and wandered off, leaving the group in a momentary silence.

"Thank God," Tezuka said, sighing with relief. "Okay, pay attention guys, we need to get back to practice."

"Hey, where do you think she's going?" Eiji asked, looking slyly at Momo. "I hope she's not going to _my_ house. I don't even want to think of what kind of things she would do, huh, Momo?"

Momo looked at Eiji with wide eyes. "What? Why are you looking at me?!" he asked, dropping his racquet and running in the direction Sachi left in.

When he was halfway there, he knocked over all of the baskets of tennis balls, scattering them all over the courts.

"Watch where you're runnin--" Kauro Kaidoh, Momo's rival and fellow Regular nicknamed 'Viper', started, but was cut off when he tripped over a tennis ball.

The rest of the tennis club seemed to follow Kaidoh's example, as everyone was soon tripping on the tennis balls.

"I'm not even out of sight yet!" the group turned to see Sachi just up the hill from the tennis courts, glaring back at them. "This isn't my fault!"

She continued on, while Momo nodded. "Oh, okay, bye!" he said, waving and turning back to the courts.

He was met with the sight of over half of the tennis club on the ground, and Tezuka resting his face in his hands.

Fuji had his hand on Tezuka's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"It'll get better. We'll still win the tournament tomorrow," Fuji said soothingly.

Tezuka looked at Fuji, then at the state of the tennis courts, as well as his players, and then back at Fuji, his face remaining expressionless all the while.

"…I still have faith in them," Fuji said, smiling.

Momo glared at Eiji, who was just a couple courts over and smiling back.

"Come here for a second, Eiji-sempai…" Momo said, running over toward him.

"Why are you running, Momo?" Eiji asked, jumping over the net in one leap, then continuing over the next one over.

"I'm running because this is tennis practice," Momo answered, cutting around a net to catch up to him.

"Hey, knock it off you two," Oishi said. "Kyoko, can you please call Sachi, so we can keep tabs on her? Otherwise nothing will get done…"

"Oh, sure," Kyoko said, pulling out her cell phone and dialling Sachi's number.

"'Ello?" the voice on the other end said.

"Say hi for me!" Eiji yelled running past Kyoko, Momo close behind.

"Eiji, pay attention! And Momo, stop chasing him." Tezuka ordered.

The two grudgingly followed his orders, and walked over to join in the circle, while the seventh graders picked up all of the scattered tennis balls.

"Hey Sachi, it's Kyoko. Oishi wants you to come back…and Eiji said hi."

"I don't want her back…I just want you to stay on the phone with her so we know if she's destroying someone's house!"Oishi defends, blushing a little.

"Is he blushing, Kyoko?" Sachi asked, having heard what Oishi said, and knowing how shy Oishi was around girls.

"Yes," Kyoko said, giggling.

"Okay, tell him if he wants to get together later, I'm all for that, and send a wink with that," Sachi instructed, trying to control her laughter.

"Alright. Hey, Oishi! Sachi said she's up for getting together later," Kyoko said, winking at Oishi.

"I-I've got to practice," Oishi said, awkwardly running to the farthest court.

As Kyoko was laughing, she noticed Fuji looking a little less happy than he was just a few moments ago.

"I hope she was kidding…" she heard him mutter.

He noticed her looking at him, and he immediately smiled at her, obviously unaware she had heard him.

Tezuka was looking at Fuji in disbelief, though Kyoko wasn't sure why. The two started talking.

"Well, I'm not going to come back until Kunimitsu calls me and says practice is over," Sachi said.

"Oh…well, practice should be over soon, right, Tezuka?"

Tezuka was too busy talking to Fuji to notice Kyoko talking to him.

"He…agrees. So I'll see you soon," Kyoko said.

"I hope so."

The two girls hung up, and Kyoko heard the end of Tezuka and Fuji's conversation.

"I'm trying desperately to win her back, so I told Oishi to try to get her. It'll be easier for me to compete with him than you," Tezuka said in an expressionless tone, before he wandered over to drag Momo and Eiji back towards the courts.


	2. Secret Crushes

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Two: Secret Crushes_**

Kyoko watched as Tezuka walked away, and then turned to Fuji in confusion.

She wasn't sure, but she thought they were talking about Sachi.

"Um…Fuji…" Kyoko started.

"Hmm?" he said, smiling at her.

"What were you two talking about?"

"Oh…nothing…just…tennis stuff. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to practice," Fuji said, walking onto a court, with Oishi.

Kyoko stood there, trying to come up with her own conclusions. "There's something wrong with Tezuka," she muttered. "He seems even more…"

"Blah?" Eiji suggested walking up to her.

"Yeah, I wonder what's up. It has something to do with Sachi and Fuji…"

Eiji gasped. "It's a mystery! Time for us to solve it! Quick! We've got to find a magnifying glass!" he exclaimed, running over to Fuji's backpack and looking through it.

Oishi and Fuji hadn't heard what Kyoko said, but they heard what Eiji said, and they looked over questioningly at him.

"Um…Eiji, why would a magnifying glass be in there?" Oishi asked.

Eiji didn't answer, and, when he came up empty, he sighed and gave up. "Well, we can still solve it…" he muttered.

After about twenty more minutes, Tezuka decided practice was over.

Everyone but the Regulars left almost right away; the seventh graders didn't want to be around if Momo dropped several more baskets full of tennis balls, and the eighth graders had to go home to fix up the little cuts they got from tripping.

"Hey, call Sachi to let her know practice is over," Eiji reminded Tezuka.

"Oh yeah," Tezuka said, pulling out his cell phone.

While he dialled, Fuji glared at him.

"Hey, Sachi, practice is over."

"Oh okay, I'll see you guys in a little bit!" Sachi said, hanging up.

They waited, and five minutes later, Sachi walked up with a puppy in her hands.

"Look what I got!" she said, putting the dog at arm's length to show everyone. "Her name is Bombaclot. Isn't she cute?"

"Aw, she's so cute! What an unusual name…" Kyoko commented.

"Should we all go get something to eat?" Fuji suggested, petting the Bombaclot.

"Oh, yeah! I'll just take this little one to Eiji's house where she'll be staying," Sachi said, hugging Bombaclot. "And come back later. She's getting sleepy."

"I'll come with," Fuji said.

"No way!" Eiji objected. "You two aren't going to my house alone!"

"Why not?" Fuji asked.

Eiji gave him a look of disbelief.

"Well, I'm leaving," Tezuka said, checking his watch.

"Bye Kunimitsu!" Sachi said, waving to him.

"Where are the rest of us going?" Kyoko asked as Eiji and Sachi walked off to Eiji's house. "We're already missing like three people…"

"Four," Kaidoh said, grabbing his stuff, and running home.

"We should pick somewhere around here so they can call us when they're done."

"I say we hide!" Momo exclaimed, looking around.

"Hide?" Kyoko asked.

"Yeah! From Eiji and Sachi!"

"Um, I'd rather have them find us," Fuji said.

"If they ever come back…" Momo said, smiling.

Fuji stared at Momo with wide eyes.

"Like, if Sachi kills him…"

"Oh, okay," Fuji said, smiling. "Never mind."

After a while of talking amongst themselves, Fuji decided to call Eiji to see where they were.

"Eh, Moshimoshi? Fuji?" Eiji said from the other line.

"Where are you guys?" Fuji asked.

"We're waiting for Bombaclot to fall asleep."

"Oh, okay. Well, we're still at the courts and --" Fuji was cut off by Momo grabbing the phone from him.

"Eiji! It's Momo. Make sure Sachi doesn't go to my house!"

Fuji grabbed the phone back from Momo and listened to Eiji. "Don't go to Momo's house," he heard him say.

"Momo would love it if I went to his house," he heard Sachi say in the background.

"Sachi says Momo would love it if she went to his house…"

"I would not love it if she went to my house!" Momo exclaimed, having heard what Eiji said.

"Okay, we're leaving now," Sachi said, apparently having grabbed the phone, and then hung up.

"They're on their way," Fuji reported.

"No! We have to hide!" Momo exclaims, running behind a tree.

"We never went anywhere…we're still at the courts…" Kyoko pointed out, looking around.

"Well, at least they can find us?" Oishi said.

"Come on! We have to run away!"

The rest of the group just gave Momo a look of disbelief.

A few minutes later Sachi and Eiji walked up to the group.

"Where's Momo?" Eiji asked, looking around.

"Hiding from Sachi," Ryoma said.

"Oh, that's too bad," Sachi said. "I was going to take him to a movie to get him some popcorn. Oh well."

Momo walked out from behind the tree. "Are you buying the popcorn?"

Eiji gasped. "It's a date! It's a date!" he exclaimed.

"I think he's accepting that offer," Ryoma said, smirking at Momo.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll buy the popcorn," Sachi said, rolling her eyes.

"And, no, it's not a date, Eiji-sempai," Momo said, glaring at Eiji.

"Can we go, too, Sachi? Please??" Eiji begged.

"I think it's supposed to be a date, Eiji-sempai. Momo seems to like Sachi," Ryoma said.

Momo was too busy thinking about popcorn to notice Ryoma's remark.

"What? We're talking about that one," Sachi said, pointing at the oblivious Momo.

"And that one obviously likes that one," Oishi said, pointing at Sachi.

Kyoko noticed Fuji's smile fade a little.

"It doesn't mean that she likes him, though…" Kyoko said, looking at the sky.

"Even though she just asked him on a date!" Eiji said.

"Momo, do you like me?" Sachi asked Momo.

"What? No!" Momo exclaimed.

"Well, I guess no popcorn for you…"

"If I say yes, do I get popcorn?"

"Yes."

"Okay…I like you Sachi. Now, let's go get some popcorn," Momo said, leading Sachi toward the movies.

The rest of the group watched as they went, wondering what had just happened.

"Well…at least he actually got a date…" Kyoko said, still in slight shock from the unfolding events.

"You count that as a date?" Ryoma asked, looking at Kyoko.

Kyoko's face turned a little red, and she looked at the ground. "Well, I mean…he got asked to the movies, and he's going with a girl, right after admitting he liked her. Though it's not real in their case, it could be considered a date…"

"So, just going to the movies with someone is a date?" Ryoma asked.

"Um…in most cases, yes…I guess…maybe…" Kyoko said, getting flustered.

Ryoma held back a smile and put his hat on Kyoko's head. "You can hide under this," he said, showing the slightest bit of his amusement.

Kyoko pulled down the hat to cover her eyes, just before she saw his smile, which made her turn even redder. "Sh-shall we follow them?" she said, still hiding her face.

"Yeah! We should go and spy on them!" Eiji exclaimed.

The group agreed they'd go see how they were doing, and slowly made their way toward the movie theater.

While on their way, Kyoko noticed Ryoma was walking next to her the whole time, though she wasn't sure if he noticed. She spent the whole way to the theater trying to hide her smile.


	3. Oishi's Secret

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Three: Oishi's Secret_**

"I feel like something's out of place…like something's not right…" Kyoko said when the group was almost at the movie theater.

"Is it Fuji?" Eiji asked, pointing to Fuji who was spacing out.

"Hmm…could be…" Kyoko said, pondering what it possibly could be.

* * *

"I think you just want food," Sachi said.

Her and Momo were right outside the movie theater.

"Well, duh!" Momo exclaimed. "Why else would I be here?"

"You said you liked me, so I was taking you out because you finally stopped lying! We're not doing this anymore!"

"Wait, that's what the terms were to come here?! Did you want me to admit it?!"

"Yes! I was sick of you lying all the time! We all were. I thought you'd finally grown up and learned to deal with your problems!"

Momo laughed. "It's hard to deal with my problems when they keep coming back!" Momo said, pointing accusingly at Sachi.

Sachi took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I always thought we were very similar, but apparently not anymore. Well, I'm going to just go to Eiji's house to get Bombaclot. I'll see you later."

With that Sachi walked off, leaving Momo standing there confused.

The rest of the group arrived moments later.

"Momo! Where's Sachi? What did you do to her?!" Eiji exclaimed.

"She went to get her dog…" Momo said.

"To my house!" Eiji said, running off.

The rest of the group was a little confused, but they followed.

When they got there, Eiji burst through the door. "Mom! Where's Sachi?!" he exclaimed.

"She's sleeping on the couch, be quiet! She's had a rough day so I let her take a nap. Go play outside," Eiji's mother said, shooing him out.

Eiji walked outside and informed the rest of the group. "She's sleeping, so we can't go in there. I guess we'll just solve the mystery tomorrow!"

"What mystery, Eiji-sempai?" Momo asked.

"It's a secret! See you guys tomorrow at the tournament!" Eiji said, running back inside his house.

"I guess that's our cue to leave, too," Kyoko said, looking at everyone else.

Everyone waved at each other, and walked toward their houses.

Ryoma and Kyoko's houses were in the same direction, so they walked together.

"So, are you excited for the tournament?" Kyoko asked after a while of walking.

Ryoma fixed his hat. "I guess."

"I know you guys are going to win."

"Yeah…"

Kyoko quietly sighed and racked her brain for another topic, but came up empty.

"So…are you coming to the tournament tomorrow?" Ryoma asked, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Huh? Oh, of course. I wouldn't miss it," Kyoko said. "What time is it at?"

Ryoma smirked. "I'll just come and get you in the morning."

"Oh, are you sure you'll get up on time?" Kyoko said, smiling at Ryoma.

She knew he was known for oversleeping.

"Yeah, yeah. I will. Well, we're at your house, so I'll see you in the morning. Be ready by eight," Ryoma said, before continuing walking toward his own house.

Kyoko smiled at him as he kept walking, and then walked inside her house to get ready for bed.

* * *

The next morning at Eiji's house, Eiji was already ready and was waiting for Sachi.

Sachi was putting a leash on Bombaclot, but still wasn't ready to go. "I guess we have to go watch sweaty boys play a girly sport today, Bombaclot," she said, patting her head.

"Come on Sachi! I'm going to be late," Eiji said.

"I'm not ready yet. Just go and I'll catch up!"

Eiji sighed, but grabbed his stuff and walked out the door.

As he made his way to school, he passed by Ryoma, who was walking to Kyoko's house.

"Hey, Chibi-chan! Where are you going?" Eiji said.

"Huh? Oh…Eiji-sempai…I'm going to pick up Kyoko…"

"Ooh, Chibi-chan! Are you going soft on Kyoko-chan?" Eiji asked, pinching Ryoma's cheek.

Ryoma just stared at Eiji. "Eiji-sempai. Don't."

"O-kay! Well, I guess I'll see you two at school for the tournament!" Eiji said, continuing walking.

Ryoma smirked at him as he left, then walked up to Kyoko's front door, and knocked on it.

Kyoko answered it, and smiled at Ryoma.

"Hello," she said.

"Good morning," Ryoma said, fixing his hat.

She closed the door and the two made their way to Seigaku.

When they arrived, they waited outside for everyone else. They saw Eiji up at the front, stretching alone.

"Hey, Eiji!" Kyoko said, waving at Eiji, who looked up and waved back. "Where's Sachi?"

"She's still getting ready," Eiji said, flipping his hair to imitate a girl. "You girls always take forever…"

Kyoko smiled. "We can take quite a while. I hope she comes soon…the tournament is today, and it'd be a shame for her to miss it!"

Just then, Sachi walked up with Bombaclot. "Am I allowed to ditch out halfway through?" she asked.

"Like always," Eiji said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, cool. I think I'll get a smoothie second half," she said, smiling.

"But…then you'll miss all of the tennis action!" Kyoko said.

"Right…tennis action…" Sachi said, laughing a little.

"Well, we'll let you know what happens," Kyoko promised, to which Sachi rolled her eyes.

Kaidoh walked up to the group and looked at Bombaclot. "Can I…pet her?"

Sachi handed Bombaclot to Kaidoh, who smiled a little when he pet her fur.

"Ha! You're such a girl, Viper! Petting a dog!" A voice said behind the group.

They turned and saw Momo walking up to them.

Bombaclot growled at Momo as he reached them.

"I like this dog…" Kaidoh said, nodding with approval at Bombaclot.

Kyoko nodded in agreement. "She knows who the bad guy is," she said, petting Bombaclot. "Good puppy."

"Hey!" Mom protested. "I am not bad!"

"Right Momo-sempai…" Ryoma said, smirking at him.

"We should head down to the courts now," Kyoko suggested.

"I think I'll get a Pink-star. Yeah, Pink-star smoothies are awesome…oh, I need to get water for Bombaclot in a little bit, don't let me forget!" Sachi said.

"Got it!" Eiji said, giving her a thumbs up sign. "You should bring me some, too! I forgot mine at home…"

"Even though we have a big tournament today?" Ryoma asked, looking at him in disbelief.

Eiji laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "I set it down, then went to brush my teeth…and by the time I was done, I forgot where I put it. Sachi was making me run late, so I had to go…"

Sachi was about to protest when Oishi walked up to the group. "Well, that's not good. I don't want you to pass out while we're playing."

"It'd take him half a second to be running around again, he'll be fine. You have no idea how little he sleeps at night," Sachi said.

"I get my full three hours!" Eiji objected.

"See what I mean? He's a freak. Give him ten minutes; it's like an hour long nap for a normal person."

Oishi smiled and patted Eiji on the back. "I've got some extra water just in case you need any. I know your stamina is good, but just to be safe."

"O-kay!" Eiji said, smiling.

"You're such a mother, Oishi-sempai," Ryoma commented.

"I'm just watching out for my partner," Oishi countered, smiling at Ryoma.

The group started toward the courts.

"So who are you guys playing first?" Kyoko asked.

"I don't know. Oh, I see Tezuka," Oishi said, pointing at Tezuka who was making his way over to the group. "Be right back…"

Oishi walked over to Tezuka, who looked at Oishi with a expressionless face.

"We've got a problem," Oishi said.

Tezuka just stared at Oishi. "What now?"

"Well…it's more like I've got a problem…it's…Sachi…"

"Not you, too…"

"No, at least, I don't think so…see…"

The rest of the group just looked on at them, wondering what they were whispering about.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kyoko asked.

"Captain business?" Ryoma guessed.

"I doubt it. It's probably gossip!" Momo said.

"Oh! Oh!" Eiji said, running over to Oishi. "What's the gossip, Oishi??"

"There's no gossip. We were trying to figure out what order to play everyone. I had to whisper in case another team's manager is sneaking around."

"Aww..come on Oishi! You can tell me! What doubles partners talk about stays between doubles partners!"

"Really, Eiji, I don't know what you're talking about…" Oishi said.

"Fine! Be like that! I will find out!" Eiji said, giving Oishi a cunning smile before he ran off.

"Be sure to stretch before we play!" Oishi called out as Eiji ran.

Kyoko looked over and saw the team order boards. "Oh, so we're playing Hyotei first?"


	4. Rivals

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Four: Rivals_**

"I'm going to go get water," Sachi declared, looking at the small group left. "Eiji!"

Eiji ran back over from wherever he was, and looked at her. "Yes, Sachi?"

"I'm going to get you a purple drink."

"I want blue!" he whined.

"Blue tastes like cotton candy!" Sachi said.

"Exactly!"

Sachi made a distasteful face, then walked off to get some.

Eiji did a fist pump, and started skipping around Ryoma. "I get a blue drink…I get a blue drink…" he sang.

Ryoma adjusted his hat and looked up at Eiji. "Shouldn't you be acting a little more mature, Eiji-sempai?"

Eiji stuck out his tongue at Ryoma and continued skipping.

"I want a blue drink," Momo said.

"You can deal with water or ask Sachi to buy you some," Oishi suggested.

"Sachi!" he called out, to which Sachi turned around from up a ways away to look back. "Will you get me a blue drink?"

Sachi froze, and then busted out in laughter before continuing on.

Momo turned to the rest of the group. "Should I take that as a no?"

The group gave him a look of disbelief. Momo pouted in defeat.

"Oishi!" Tezuka said in his stern voice, causing the group to look over at him. "Warm up."

"Come on guys, let's take a quick jog," Oishi said, looking at everyone.

"You know, Momo-sempai, if you would have just admitted to liking Sachi, I bet she would've gotten you a blue drink," Ryoma said as they start their jog.

Kyoko waved at them as they went by, and decided to go over to Hyotei's side of the courts.

While she and the Regulars were gone, Sachi walked back, with Bombaclot on a leash, and opened up a water bottle, pouring it in the lid for her drink out of, then grabbed a notebook out of her bag and started looking over it sneakily.

Momo looked over and noticed her cunning look. "Hey, what is Sachi doing…?" He said, pointing across the courts. "She's up to something!"

"Momo, we need to be focusing on the tournament, not Sachi!" Oishi said.

Fuji was suddenly part of their group, and jogged up behind Momo, smiling. "I hope there's no rule against it."

Momo jumped in surprise and Fuji fell back to the back of the group next to Tezuka, who was whispering to him. Fuji listened and nodded, then turned to look at Oishi with a slightly unhappy look.

"What? What did you tell him, Tezuka?" Oishi asked in a panicked voice.

Eiji laughed and pointed at Oishi. "You're making a funny face, Oishi!"

"…Eiji…" Oishi said.

"What do you think the story is about, Momo-sempai?" Ryoma asked as the two were jogging side by side.

"I don't know, but we'll find out…" Momo said, smiling.

Tezuka didn't say anything, but Fuji continued looking at Oishi.

"Look, I don't know what he told you…but I don't think of her like that!" Oishi defended.

Fuji's face relaxed into a smile. "Yeah, I get it…"

"I'm not usually the one who likes to gossip, but…I kind of want to know what's going on," Ryoma said quietly, looking at Momo.

"Hey, guys. Do you want to tell us what's going on?" Momo asked, trying to smile convincingly at them.

"No," Fuji said, smiling at him, then at Oishi and Tezuka who said nothing.

"Aww…come on guys!!" Momo yelled.

Fuji shook his head, and continued jogging.

Kyoko looked over from Hyotei's side when Momo yelled. "I wonder what they're doing over there…"

"Getting ready to lose, of course," the guy with her said, relaxing on the bench and smiling. "Ne, Kabaji?"

The big, tan guy next to him nodded his head. "Usu."

"So…are you ready to play, Keigo?" Kyoko asked, casually.

"Is that what you're really over here for?" Keigo asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Well, actually…it's about Sachi…"

"Say no more. I'm going to make sure she falls madly in love with me."

"That's not what I was here to say…"

He waved his hand dismissively. "It won't be difficult at all," he said, getting up and walking toward where Sachi was sitting. Kabaji followed.

Kyoko watched him walk away. "Good luck with that…I guess I'll check out the other schools," she said, wandering over to Yamabuki's courts.

Over by Seigaku's courts, the Regulars finished their laps in front of Sachi.

"Oh, it's the king of the apes coming our way…" Ryoma mumbled, looking at Keigo.

"Hello Tezuka! Long time no see. You ready to lose?" Keigo said, smiling. "Oh, and Sachi, you look beautiful today."

Ryoma looked over and saw Fuji in the back of the group, almost glaring at Keigo.

Sachi stuffed her notebook back into her bag, and picked up Bombaclot. "Oh, hello, Keigo. How are you?"

Momo leaned to Ryoma. "We need to lure her away from that notebook. It holds the key to what we seek!"

"Sounds logical," Ryoma said, nodding in agreement.

"Shouldn't you be practicing?" Tezuka asked.

"Like I need it," Keigo said arrogantly.

"So! Sachi, how've you been lately? Anything new?" Keigo asked.

"Nothing very important. I got a puppy; her name is Bombaclot. Kaidoh loves her," she said, hugging Bombaclot. "Oh, Eiji, here's your blue drink."

Eiji took the drink from Sachi and waved it in Momo's face.

"Oh yeah, and Momo admitted to liking me yesterday. That was funny."

Momo was too distracted by Eiji's drink to hear what she had said.

"Ah, is that right? Did that make you feel weird or anything? I mean, if it was me that said it, I'm sure you would've been buzzing with happiness, but since it's him…" Keigo's voice started to fade as he pointed to Momo.

"It's quite disgusting how used to it I am from any person. I don't think I'd give any more of a reaction if you said it or if Momo said it…now if Ryoma said it, then I'd freak, because he doesn't say anything. He's a mute little baby," she said, taking out a bottle of milk from her bag and handing it to him.

Kyoko nonchalantly looked at everyone in their group at the thought of him doing that, frowning a little. It disappeared when her eyes laid on Ryoma. He took the bottle, and glared at it, then at Sachi.

Kyoko looked away quickly to look at the courts and hid her smile. She just missed him glance at her to make sure she saw that he was glaring at Sachi.

"I'm not even that short," Ryoma said, handing Eiji the bottle full of milk.

Eiji stared at the blue drink in one of his hands, and the bottle in the other. "I'm not that thirsty…"

"Where's Fuji?" Sachi asked suddenly, looking around. "I haven't really talked to him much since I got here…"

Fuji raised his hand from the back of the group. "Um…I'm right here…" he said, smiling at her.

"You're so tiny, you should grow up!" Sachi said, walking over and reaching up to pat his head. "When are you playing? Want to go for a walk?"

"No, enough of this. We need to get ready," Tezuka cut in, his face showing no emotion. "Atobe, go bother your own team."

Keigo laughed. "I'm not bothering anyone, ne, Kabaji?"

"Usu," Kabaji answered.

"Drink your blue drink, Eiji. I went through all of that trouble of getting it for you," Sachi said, glaring at him. "And, Keigo, I think Tezuka's right. Everyone should be practicing for their super girly tennis matches."

Keigo sighed and turned to leave. "Well, I'll see you guys on the courts. Be prepared to lose," he said, leading Kabaji back to their team.

Tezuka watched him walk off, and then looked over at his team. "We've got to practice," he said, walking onto the courts.

The rest of the team exchanged glances, and followed him.

"We are going to start the competition now. First court's match is Hyotei versus Seigaku. Athletes, please take to the courts," the voice over the loud speaker said.

Seigaku players and Hyotei players all lined up along the net, and looked at each other.

"Almost like destiny, huh, Tezuka?" Keigo said, smirking at Tezuka.

Tezuka just stared blankly at him.

Keigo raised his arms up and the crowd started cheering. "Look, I even got my school's cheerleaders to come down. I guess we know who's going to win," he said.

"Come on, Tezuka! Just remember Calvin Ball!" Sachi yelled from the sidelines.

"…just remember what?" Tezuka asked, looking at Sachi in confusion.

When she answered with a wave, he looked at the rest of the Regulars for support. They replied with shrugs.

"I know they'll win," Kyoko said, walking up behind Sachi.

Two girls, one with her hair in long braids and the other in regular pigtails, walked up and stood next to Sachi and Kyoko.

"Go Ryoma-Sama!! You're amazing!! I love you!!" the one with the pigtails screamed.

Kyoko turned and, without thinking, glared at her.

Sachi looked at her, too. "Wait, she might scream at my dog."

Sachi grabbed Bombaclot and ran off, leaving Kyoko alone with them.

The girl that was yelling stared dumbfounded as Sachi ran off. "What was that…?"

The girl with her shrugged. "Maybe you were scaring her dog, Tomo-Chan?"

The other girl laughed and waved her hand dismissively.

Fuji looked over and saw Sachi running away. He turned to Kyoko with a puzzled look on his face.

Kyoko pointed to the girl, who she now knew as Tomo, and plugged her ears.

Fuji nodded, understanding what she meant, and continued smiling at his opponents as everyone went back to their respective sides.

Tomo looked over at Kyoko, and saw she had pointed at her. "Hey! Who are you pointing at?? What's wrong with me, huh?!"

The Regulars walked out at that moment, and as Ryoma walked by, he said, "You're too loud."

Tomo stood there, not sure what to say, when he turned to Kyoko. "I'm playing number three singles. You'd better watch," he said, smirking at her.

She blushed a little, and nodded her head. "I can warm up with you before you play, if you want," she said, smiling at him.

He thought about it and then nodded, knowing Kyoko was better at tennis than she let on. "There's an open space over behind the courts. We'll go after we win the first doubles match."

Kyoko nodded. "Sounds good."

Ryoma nodded, too, and walked over to sit down and drink his water.

As he left, Kyoko looked over and saw a steaming mad Tomo. The girl with the braids was trying to calm her down.

Kyoko simply smiled at her, then walked over and sat by Ryoma, who tried his best not to smile as Kyoko talked to him.


	5. The Tournament

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Five: The Tournament_**

"Our first doubles pair is Kaidoh and Momo. Don't let your guard down," Tezuka said.

"No way!" Mom protested, crossing his arms. "Team me up with someone, anyone else! Come on!"

"Team him up with Sachi!" Eiji suggested.

"We can't do that…" Tezuka said.

Eiji's voice dropped to a whisper. "Shhh! Momo doesn't know that!"

"He might not know that, but I'm pretty sure the doubles tournament officials do," Kyoko pointed out.

Eiji shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. It's always good to try new things!"

"Fine, I'll take Viper," Momo grumbled, dragging his racquet behind him onto the courts.

Kaidoh followed him. "I'm not happy about it, either…"

Sachi walked back and saw that Tomo had stopped paying attention. She looked and saw Momo and Kaidoh walking onto the courts. "Go Kaidoh! Kick Momo's ass!" she yelled.

"We're on the same team!" Momo yelled back.

Sachi turned to Tezuka with sad eyes. "Are they really?"

Tezuka stared at her with a blank expression. "Yes…"

"Aww…"

"You don't know this after hanging out with a group of tennis players for so long?" Ryoma asked Sachi, looking at her in disbelief.

"It's okay! She's never played so it's understandable!" Eiji defended.

Fuji smiled and nodded in agreement. "That's right."

"Well, I'd understand anyone else being together, but Momo? Come on. He needs to get his ass handed to him. He needs to learn to just grow up and the best way to do that is through corporal punishment," Sachi said, smacking her fist into the palm of her other hand. "Just make Fuji go psycho on him."

"He already has…many times. We don't need that, Momo's not going to grow up," Oishi said.

"But we're not alike anymore," Sachi said.

"Corporal punishment seems like too much to start with…" Kyoko said.

"Wait, how are you guys not alike anymore?" Ryoma asked.

Kyoko turned and saw Sadaharu sit down and pull out his notebook, looking ready to take notes.

"I'm not yelly as he is anymore. And I don't go out of my way to bother him. I just do it in passing," Sachi explained.

"Because you're busy bothering other team members," Tezuka said.

"Like who?! I don't know who I'm bothering. You can't get mad at me if you can't prove I'm doing anything."

"She is sort of right, Tezuka. It wasn't her fault…really…" Oishi commented.

"It was, too. If she didn't--" Tezuka started, but was interrupted by Oishi.

"It's starting!!" Oishi said, pointing to the courts.

Momo turned and yelled, "We've never been alike!"

He hit back their serve, and Kaidoh turned to glare at Momo. "Don't talk while we're playing," he hissed.

"I can prove exactly how it's Sachi's fault, but Oishi won't let me," Tezuka said.

"They don't all need to know," Oishi said.

"Sadaharu…?" Eiji asked, turning to Sadaharu, who flipped through his notebook.

"I-I…don't know…"

Kyoko patted him on the shoulder to calm him. "It's okay, Sadaharu," she said soothingly.

"Yeah! Because Oishi is about to tell us…right…..now!" Eiji said, pointing at Oishi, who just stared at him.

"No he's not," Sachi said.

"You don't even know what we're talking about!" Oishi said, in a slightly worried tone.

"Oh yes I do."

Oishi turned to Fuji, who smiled. "I didn't tell her."

"I just know things. Calm down," Sachi said.

"…you don't know. None of you know."

"I know," Tezuka said.

Oishi sighed. "Obviously…"

"Can someone PLEASE tell me what's going on!" Eiji begged.

"Hey, you guys! We're trying to play here!" Momo yelled from the courts.

"Then don't listen in!" Eiji said.

Sachi whispered something to Oishi, who made a face.

"Does she know?" Tezuka asked.

"Yes…" Oishi said, sighing.

"See? I told you," Sachi said.

"Aww, this is SO not fair!" Eiji said, kicking the fence. "I want to know!"

Ryoma adjusted his hat. "I just want them to stop talking about it…"

"Me, too!" Momo yelled, hitting a tennis ball to their opponent.

"I'll tell you," Sachi said.

"No!" Oishi protested.

"What's the problem if they know? So, it's 'my fault' yesterday, after all of my joke flirting, Oishi had a sexy-ish dream about us, NOT LIKE THAT!" Sachi said, pointing to Eiji, stopping him in mid sentence.

Eiji covered his mouth with his hands.

"Oh dear…" Kyoko said, shaking her head.

"Of course the gossip would be something like that…" Ryoma said, rolling his eyes.

"What did you say?!" Momo asked, getting hit by a tennis ball.

"Fifteen, love!" the line judge called.

"Quit getting distracted, idiot!" Kaidoh hissed at him.

"Shut up Viper," Momo snapped back, challenging his glare.

"He's right, Momo! Pay attention and we'll fill you in later! Maybe Kyoko and I should go? Less of a distraction for the monkey boy down there?" Sachi suggested.

"Yes! You two should definitely leave!" Tomo said suddenly, smiling at Ryoma.

Ryoma looked at her funny, and fixed his hat.

"But where would we go?" Kyoko asked.

"I'll show you!" Sachi said, grabbing Kyoko's wrist, picking up Bombaclot, and running around to the other side of the courts. "Just until Momo's done playing and being stupid. There are so many people on this side; no one's going to spot us."

"Oh, okay," Kyoko said, giving Sachi a thumbs up. "Sounds like a good plan."

Eiji, who was still on the other side of the courts, stomped his foot and pointed accusingly at Momo. "You made my sister leave!"

"I did not!" Momo protested, hitting the tennis ball.

"Try not to distract him, Eiji. We need to win this," Tezuka said.

Eiji crossed his arms and pouted.

Fuji smiled and put his arm on Eiji's shoulder. "She'll be back after they're done, don't worry."

* * *

On the other side of the courts, Keigo spotted Kyoko and Sachi and walked over with Kabaji.

"Ah, I see you came over to the winning side," Keigo said, smiling at them.

Sachi looked around panicked, then at him. "How the hell did you find us? There are like seventy billion people here!"

Kyoko looked down at hers and Sachi's clothes. Sachi was wearing a black sweatshirt with an American band on the front and a short black skirt; Kyoko was wearing a plain light blue T-shirt with a knee length white skirt; their outfits looked very American.

"I think our clothes gave us away…we don't exactly fit in with this school…" Kyoko pointed out.

"I'd so go to this school, but I don't have any friends here. Hey, where's that really happy guy? Or am I thinking of the wrong school…?" Sachi asked, looking around.

"Oh, Jirou? He's probably off sleeping somewhere," Keigo said.

"Oh, yeah, sure that kid. The sunshine one. Can I go wake him up?" Sachi asked, and skipped off to find him.

"So, how tight is Tezuka's grip on her?" Keigo asked Kyoko when Sachi was out of ear shot.

"Um, Tezuka doesn't have a grip on her at all, actually…they aren't dating or anything…"

"Hm…well, you know, you should go visit Jirou, too. I've heard he's quite fond of you when he's awake."

Kyoko gave Keigo a puzzled look, but jogged to catch up with Sachi.

* * *

"Hey sleepy head, wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!" Sachi yelled, shoving Jirou off of the bench he was sleeping on.

"Oww…" he said, rubbing his head, and looking around. "Is it my turn to play?"

"No, I wanted to say hi!" Sachi said, waving at him.

Kyoko walked up then and noticed him on the ground.

"Look, I got a puppy!" Sachi said, showing Jirou Bombaclot.

"Oh! It's such a cute puppy!" he said, petting Bombaclot. "What's its name?"

"Bombaclot!"

"Whoa, that's an awesome name!"

"It is fitting," Kyoko agreed, smiling.

"Hi Kyoko," Jirou said, smiling at her.

Kyoko waved. "Hello Jirou."

"Why do you sleep so much? I mean, I love sleeping, but I'd miss too much. Eiji, he never sleeps……" Sachi said, starting a long rant on anything that came to mind.

Kyoko listened intently as she petted Bombaclot, nodding every once in a while.

"Don't fall asleep!" Sachi suddenly snapped, glaring at Jirou.

He jerked up and continued to listen.

Bombaclot walked back and forth between Jirou and Kyoko, looking at Sachi while she talked.

* * *

"So, Tezuka doesn't have her…" Keigo said, thinking out loud to Kabaji, who was standing next to him. "But what about that Fuji character?"

Kabaji kept still, but Keigo knew he was listening.

"Do you think he'll give her up easily? I mean, he doesn't have her, but it seems he has more influence on her than I do…I will get her, mark my words, Kabaji."

"Usu."


	6. Nicknames

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Six: Nicknames_**

"…And that's why you should never buy coca-cola in twelve packs," Sachi said, finishing her rant. "Wow, I sure can tell stories. Someone should have shut me up. Is this match almost done with? When do you play, Jirou?"

Kyoko clapped. "I liked your story."

"Oh, um…" Jirou said, looking at the courts as the first doubles game ended. "Oh, it seems my team lost. Darn!!"

He smiled despite himself. "From what I saw it was an amazing game! But…I've still got until the next doubles game is over."

"Oh, well you should come hang out with us then! I'm sick of all this school tension! You know, it's your silly little captain who's causing most of it, but he's just in it for the fun, I'm sure," Sachi said.

"Atobe? No, he's always that arrogant, but I don't know if I should leave my side of the courts…" Jirou said.

"Oh, okay…" Sachi said, looking sad. "Well, come on Kyoko. We can at least go back."

"Okay!" Kyoko said. She looked across the courts and noticed Keigo. "Wait, is that Keigo going over to our side?"

Jirou looked over, too. "It is him! What's he doing over there…?"

"Probably antagonizing everyone. He's got too many people cheering for your side as it is…I don't know why he needs to bother Tezuka. The guy is already way more high strung than anyone else I've met. Poor guy; he's so into his sissy sport," Sachi said, shaking her head sadly.

"Hm…Tezuka is kind of high strung…maybe he needs a vacation?" Kyoko suggested.

"Sissy sport? You mean tennis? Tennis is so much fun!" Jirou exclaimed, smiling.

"Should we still go over there? Or should we wait here for him to come back?" Kyoko asked.

"I thought we were going back there. And I don't care if tennis is fun. It's not manly! You should be playing Rugby," Sachi said, picking up Bombaclot and walking over to Seigaku's side.

"Oh, bye Jirou!" Kyoko said, waving to him, and running to catch up with Sachi.

"Rugby…? Why would I want to play that?" Jirou ponders as Sachi and Kyoko run off.

* * *

"Hey, what's all the fussin-stuffin about?" Sachi asked when her and Kyoko arrived back.

"What's going on?" Kyoko asked, looking around puzzled.

She noticed Tezuka glaring at Keigo, who was talking to Fuji.

"I don't know…they won't tell me, either. Hey, Kun-kun!" Sachi said.

Tezuka turned and looked at Sachi baffled.

"Yeah, that's your new nick-name. What's the dealie-o? I heard you won, Kaidoh, congratulations!"

Kaidoh turned and looked at her funny. "Uh…yeah…thanks…" he said, drinking some of his water.

"Kun-kun? How silly…" Kyoko commented, laughing a little.

"Hey!! What about me? I won, too!" Momo yelled offended.

"Really, Kun-kun, what's going on with them?" Sachi asked, pointing at Fuji and Keigo.

"Hello! I won, too!" Momo persisted, pointing to himself. "Sachi, I won, too!"

Sachi turned to Kaidoh, and handed him Bombaclot before turning back to Tezuka.

"Why won't she listen to me??" Momo asked Kyoko, giving her a sad look.

"Maybe it's because you're…you?" Kyoko guessed with a shrug.

Momo gasped. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Tezuka sighed. "I'm not sure what they're talking about. Keigo just randomly came over here. I could've sworn I heard them say your name, though."

"Someone is always saying my name, I'm fantastic!" Sachi said. "I'll go spy. Kyoko, want to be my partner in sneakiness? It'll be fuuuuun…"

Kyoko looked around, then at her. "Well, you do make it sound like fun…"

The two walked over within ear shot.

"So, how much will it take?" Keigo said.

"I cannot be bribed," Fuji said, smiling.

"Then what will it take?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on. I'm sure there's some arrangement we can make…"

Sachi couldn't stand just listening anymore, and asserted herself into the conversation. "I love arrangements! What are we arranging for? A cupcake delivery of large quantities, I'm hoping?" she asked, looking around excitedly. "Oh, Shusuke, that'd be the best welcome back gift ever but it's too expensive for you. Thank you for the thoughts. Come on, I'm tormenting Momo by only complimenting Kaidoh on winning!"

Momo looked over at the four. "Hey! I heard my name!"

"No…no, cupcakes. But we can go get some after the tournament," Fuji said, smiling.

"Oh, money's no object for me. A large delivery of cupcakes is just a phone call away," Keigo said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Don't be silly, Keigo. If you eat a bunch of cupcakes now, you'll get a tummy hurt and lose to Kun-kun when you play him, and I know you don't want that! Right Kyoko?" Sachi asked.

"Right," Kyoko said.

"Kun-kun?" Keigo said, smiling.

"Do I get a nickname?" Fuji asked.

"Shu-shu doesn't work silly, Billy! Where's Ryoma? We can call him Ry-Ry!" Sachi said.

Ryoma looked over at them. "I hope I didn't hear my name…"

Tezuka glared at Sachi. "Stop calling me that. And he's going to lose, anyway, cupcakes or no cupcakes."

"Yeah, you tell him, Kun-Kun! And yes, Ry-Ry, you did hear your name. Oh these nicknames are so cute. And don't frown! I only give nicknames to annoy them," Sachi said.

"Does Momo get one then?" Fuji asked.

"Momo is already such a stupid name it's annoying to say and an insult. GOOD JOB KAIDOH!" Sachi said, waving at him. "Well, who's playing next?"

"They're playing now," Kyoko said, pointing to Eiji and Oishi who walked onto the courts.

"Ry-Ry….?" Ryoma asked, glaring at Sachi.

"That's right! His name is Chibi-Chan! Ne, Chibi-Chan?!" Eiji called from the courts.

"Usu," Ryoma replied, smirking.

"I played, toooooo!" Momo cried, getting on his knees.

"Idiot…" Kaidoh said, petting Bombaclot.

"Go Eiji! Go yummy!" Sachi cheered.

Oishi blushed.

"Sachi, knock it off. You're going to mess up his game," Tezuka said.

"Oops…sorry Oishi! Good luck, kick their ass!"

"Hey, that's my team!" Keigo objected.

"Sorry, but I hang out with this crowd more, you must have realized that," Sachi said, poking his nose.

"My goodness…poor Oishi. We need to get him a girlfriend! Set him up on a blind date or something!" Kyoko said.

"Let's not," Tezuka said.

"Aw…it'd be fun, though."

"Hey, you guys can set me up on a date! I just don't have a girlfriend because I'm the strong silent type," Momo said, closing his eyes dramatically.

"That and you're an idiot," Kaidoh said.

"HEY!"

"He's right. The only girl you could get would be a slutty one who'd go for anybody," Sachi pointed out.

"And I'm okay with that," Momo said.

"Come on, Kun-Kun! It'll be after your tennis thingy, so it won't make any problems, pinkie swear!" Sachi begged.

"Momo…you should have at least some standards…" Kyoko said.

"If they're like Sachi, he'll like them," Ryoma pointed out, smirking at Momo.

"Wh-what?! That's not true, take it back!" Momo demanded, picking Ryoma up by his collar.

"Hm…is it really, Momo-Sempai?"

"Thou dast protest too much," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses and smiling at Momo.

Momo stared at Sadaharu with wide eyes. "What did he just say?"

"You like Sachi," Ryoma said, smirking.

"No! Not you, too, Inui-Sempai!"

Tezuka gave Sachi an unconvinced look. "I don't think Oishi would go for the idea of a blind date, anyway. You all know he's too shy."

"That's why I get him to be outgoing first! It's not like we're trying to get Takashi to date anyone. It's Oishi; he's such a mother type. He needs a person to dote over all the time," Sachi reasoned, then looked over at the court. "GO EIJI!"

"Hoi, hoi!" Eiji called, hitting the tennis ball, and flashing a peace sign at the group.

"I agree with Sachi. I'm sure we can find someone for Oishi," Kyoko said.

"I will conduct some tests," Sadaharu declared, pushing up his glasses. "May I interview you, Sachi?"

"Eh? Sure? Come on, don't let me miss the end of the match, though. Be right back," Sachi said, following Sadaharu.

"Tests? Tests on what?" Kyoko asked.

She looked over and saw Momo pretending to cry on a bench. "Should any of us do anything about that…?"

"Nah," was everyone's answer.


	7. Tests

**_A/N: _**In this chapter, the team makes a reference to Oishi's drawings, and how they were sucky, etc. This is from the Prince of Tennis manga, number 19. Oishi did a psychological test on the team, by drawing pictures, then asking what each person thought of it. Ryoma simply replied 'It sucked' for his first drawing of a stick figure on an island. Each member gave a different answer, and this was supposed to help Oishi with the line up for the next match. He called it a 'Compatibility test'; the team made fun of his child-ish drawings.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

  
**_Chapter Seven: Tests_**

As Sadaharu and Sachi were whispering, Momo and Ryoma were watching them.

"We need that notebook," Momo said.

Ryoma nodded. "But how are we going to get it?"

"Just take it when he's not paying attention?" Momo suggested, shrugging.

"I don't think that'll work…"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Kyoko asked, sitting next to Ryoma.

"How we're going to get Sadaharu's notebook," Ryoma informed her.

"I'm thinking we take it when he's not paying attention. Or drug him with one of his own drinks! Then we take it," Momo said.

"That's not a bad idea…" Ryoma said.

"You sound surprised…"

"Obviously…"

"Why you…! Show more respect to your--"

"Okay, Momo, can I talk to you now?" Sadaharu cut in.

Momo looked over at Sadaharu confused. "Yeah, sure…" he said, getting up and walking over to him. "What's up, Inui-Sempai?"

"I wonder what he needs to talk to him about…" Kyoko pondered.

"Me, too…" Ryoma agreed, looking at the two suspiciously.

Sachi sat back down next to Kyoko and Ryoma. "He's like a psychologist. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what he went into. You know, after he got sued for killing someone with his sports drinks," she said.

Ryoma and Kyoko stared at her with wide eyes.

"I am going to need you to close your eyes," Sadaharu instructed.

Momo frowned, but closed his eyes anyway.

"Okay, imagine you're in a restaurant; any restaurant. Now, a girl walks in. You've been set up on a blind date."

"By who?!" Momo interrupted.

"Uh…Fuji…" Sadaharu said.

"Okay, he wouldn't set me up with Sachi just to tease me. Continue."

Sadaharu wrote this down, and continued. "Okay, now imagine the girl that has walked in. What is she like?"

"Well…she likes food, but she lets me call dibs first and…"

"I meant what does she look like?"

"Well, obviously she's really, really hot…"

Everyone snickered.

Momo peeked one of his eyes open to glare at them. "Hey!"

"Keep your eyes closed," Sadaharu reminded him.

Momo grudgingly closed his eye and tried to concentrate.

"Maybe you should take him away like you did with me. He'll be less embarrassed to answer honestly then," Sachi suggested.

"Good idea," Sadaharu agreed, leading Momo away from the group.

"It's almost mean to be doing this to Momo. There's no way he could get a hot girl. He's just going to get his hopes up," Sachi said when the two were out of ear shot. "Hey, Kun-Kun, I don't understand this silly tennis scoring system. Who's winning?"

Tezuka stared at her with an expressionless face. "That's not my name. And so far, we're up one match," he said, looking at the courts as Eiji and Oishi won their match. "Actually, two matches."

"We will now start the number three singles," the announcer said over the loud speaker.

Ryoma stood up and fixed his hat, glancing at Kyoko. "Be sure to watch."

Kyoko nodded her head and smiled.

"…just so you can learn how it's done," he amended with a small smile at her.

She rolled her eyes, and waved as he walked onto the courts, just as Oishi and Eiji walked out.

Sachi ran over and hugged Eiji. "CONGRATULATIONS!"

"THANK YOU! It was a fun game," Eiji replied, smiling.

"Sadaharu said he was going to run 'tests'. Maybe he meant psychological evaluation tests?" Kaidoh thought out loud, noticing Sadaharu and Momo were still talking.

"Psychological evaluation tests…?" Kyoko asked.

"Oishi-Sempai already tried that, remember? With those sucky drawings of his?" Ryoma said from the courts, smirking at the group.

"H-hey! They were not sucky!" Oishi defended.

"Yeah, Oishi, you're no artist, I can tell you that for sure. GO CHIBI-CHAN!" Eiji said.

"They were fine…" Oishi mumbled, pouting.

"Good luck Ry-Ry. Wait! Here, drink your milk first," Sachi said, running over and handing him a bottle, and winking at him, before skipping back to where the group was. "I think he's right, I mean, he was asking me all of these weird questions. He did say he was running tests on something or other…"

Ryoma set down the milk on a bench, and looked at Kyoko in confusion. "Why did she wink at me…?"

Kyoko shrugged. "Just go out there and play your best! Oh, good luck to you, too, Jirou!" she said, waving at Jirou who was Ryoma's opponent.

"Weird questions…?" Kaidoh looked at Sachi in confusion from what she had just said.

"Yeah, like he was asking about things that may have changed in my life lately. Had me close my eyes and made me imagine situations and how I'd react, blah, blah, blah. Just weird Sadaharu questions," Sachi said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"Okay, now that we're out of ear shot, how else would you describe the girl besides 'hot'?" Sadaharu asked, raising his pen.

"Hmm…well, she's got to have a great body, and not too tall, but not too short. Any hair color works, but I prefer either blonde or brown…" Momo said.

"Like Tachibana's sister?"

Momo turned red, but kept his eyes closed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sadaharu noted his reaction. "Okay, go on…"

"Um, well, she's got…eyes…I don't think this! Next question!"

"Oh, no. That's all I needed to know. Now, excuse me for a moment. I need to ask Tezuka's permission for something. You're free to go," Sadaharu said, walking off.

"What?! What did you write down? Ay! I'm not doing talking to you!"

Sachi looked over and noticed Sadaharu walking away from Momo. "I think Sadaharu is finished. I wonder what he wrote down. I think I'll go bother him in a bit."

"I hope he doesn't do any weird mind tricks on you! He's good at that, you know…" Eiji said, shuddering.

"I don't know what he's up to," Momo said when he arrived back at the group.

"He's running tests, go ask him what he's running them for. I think he's really just trying to help Kyoko and myself out with finding Oishi a lady friend. But he needs to do it in a stealthy way, so he's talking to everyone," Sachi observed.

"What a trickster! I want to go find out," Kyoko said, walking over to Sadaharu and Tezuka.

"She's a goner," Momo said, shaking his head sadly.

"I swear I heard my name…" Oishi said, looking over at the group.

"Don't worry Oishi, you're just crazy," Sachi said. "I'm calling this halfway through the thing and I'm getting a smoothie now. Kaidoh, do you want to keep holding Bombaclot or should I take her with me?"

"Um…" Kaidoh said, continuing to pet Bombaclot.

"Okay, just don't give her to Momo. His big ape arms will crush her," Sachi said, walking off.

Eiji waved to Sachi as she walked off, and then turned to Kaidoh. "I want to hold her!!"

"Um…maybe in a bit, Eiji-Sempai," Kaidoh said.

Eiji pouted, and crossed his arms.

"Hey! I do NOT have big ape arms! They are well sculpted masterpieces!" Momo called out to Sachi as she was almost out of sight.

"So, although he hasn't played yet, I would like to talk to Fuji for a bit," Sadaharu said to Tezuka.

"No, you can wait until after he plays. Talk to someone that's already gone," Tezuka replied, then turned to look at Sadaharu suspiciously. "What are you running tests on, anyway?"

Sadaharu smiled at him, and pushed up his glasses.


	8. Teasing Momo

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Eight: Teasing Momo_**

Kyoko walked up to the two when Tezuka asked what Sadaharu was up to. "I would like to know that, as well…is it for Oishi's blind date, Sadaharu?"

"Well, first I tested Momo and Sachi to see what their compatibility would be, then I'm testing Fuji to see who the best match would be. Then Oishi to see who would be best for him. And it's just more information for my notebook," Sadaharu explained.

"I hope this doesn't backfire," Tezuka said.

"So, you're basically setting them all up on dates?" Kyoko asked, looking at him quizzically.

"No, only showing you and Sachi the right direction," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses. "And Momo can't date. He'd rub it in Sachi and Kaidoh's faces all of the time for being wrong. It wouldn't be helpful to the team in any way."

"So, basically you're saying for the good of the team, Momo can't date?" Kyoko clarified.

"Precisely," Sadaharu answered, nodding.

Kyoko giggled. "Poor Momo…"

"Sounds good to me," Tezuka said.

"But, okay, that's good to gather information to use for Oishi…"

"And Momo, because then we can finally put the argument of if he likes Sachi or not to an end," Sadaharu said.

"As long as it doesn't cause problems, I'm all for it. But, really, I should be paying attention to the match," Tezuka said, turning his attention to the courts.

Ryoma walked out then, and smirked at Tezuka. "I won already."

"That was fast!" Kyoko said. She looked over and saw Jirou walking back to his own side. "Good try, Jirou!"

Momo ran over to the group. "I swear I heard my name like twenty times over here. What's going on?!"

Sadaharu, Tezuka and Kyoko looked at each other, and then replied, "Nothing," at the same time.

"Something's going on. Tell me or I'll hold Sachi's dog hostage!" Momo threatened.

"We're discussing my tests. I might as well work with Oishi until I can speak with Fuji. Oishi, can you come with me, please?" Sadaharu asked.

"Fine," Oishi said, following him.

"What tests?!" Momo demanded.

"See you next week!" Eiji said, waving at Oishi.

Kaidoh glared at Momo. "You couldn't get this dog from me, anyway."

"Well, now that the mystery is solved, all that's left is the leg work. After Sadaharu's data is collected, anyway," Kyoko said.

"The first victory goes to Seigaku. Please allow five minutes for the next match to begin," the announcer said.

Sachi walked back at that moment with smoothies in her hands. "One for Ry-Ry; I got an extra calcium boost for you since you're so picky about milk," she said, poking his nose before handing him his smoothie. "Uh, Kaidoh, Oishi…oh, he's over there. He can have his later. Eiji, Kyoko, and Fuji!"

"HEY!" Momo objected, noticing he was the only one who didn't get one.

"I got them for the winners," Sachi said, looking at him funny.

"What about Fuji?! He didn't even play!"

"Yes, but I like him, so I got him one."

Fuji smiled and looked away to hide his blush.

Ryoma glared at Sachi for her comment about him, but took the smoothie anyway.

"Oh, thank you!" Kyoko said, taking the smoothie and drinking it, smiling at Momo.

Kaidoh looked between the smoothie, and at Bombaclot who was still in his hands.

Sachi picked up Bombaclot and handed him the smoothie. "You can hold her again later. You're the only one I trust," she said.

"Hey!" Eiji yelled, offended.

"You're too hyper; you might throw her on accident."

Eiji crossed his arms. "So unfair…I'll get my own puppy and it'll be ten times better than yours!" Eiji said, determined.

"Your mom would never let you," Sachi pointed out, to which Eiji snapped his fingers.

"I want a smoothie," Momo persisted.

"Smoothies are for winners!" Sachi said.

"I won!"

"Kaidoh won, you talked to us. Bad move. So, anyone know what Sadaharu's up to?"

Kaidoh smirked at Momo as he drank his smoothie.

"I hope Eiji wouldn't throw the poor puppy…" Kyoko commented. "Oh, Sadaharu is helping us with our mission!"

Kyoko pointed at Oishi, then Fuji, then at Sachi with an open palm, indicating they were part of the mission.

"Oh, so Fuji's next," Sachi said.

"What's your mission?" Fuji asked.

Sachi smiled, and paused, looking at the courts. "So, who's playing next. Did you winning mean you move up?" she said, changing the subject. "Aw, is Keigo out of the running now? So sad…where is he anyway?"

"I don't think there's a winner or a loser in this tournament…" Kyoko said.

"Except Momo-Sempai. He's already the loser…" Ryoma said.

"HEY!" Momo yelled.

"Guess you guys had a lot of luck on your side today. How unfortunate for us," Keigo said, walking over to the group.

"Ah, they're all here. Aw, man, he still has a Kabaji. I want one," Sachi said sadly.

Kyoko patted her on the shoulder. "You'll get one, don't worry!"

Sadaharu and Oishi walked over at that moment. "Okay, Fuji, I would like to talk with you now," Sadaharu said.

"Oh, sure…" Fuji said, following him.

"Bye Fuji!" Eiji yelled, waving as they left.

"What's going on?" Keigo asked.

"Some psycho mumbo-jumbo. So, did you guys win?"

"No, we lost to this group."

"Oh, duh!" Sachi said.

"The next match is Rikkaidai versus Fudomine. Athletes please enter the courts," the announcer reported.

"Darn, we're not playing in this round…" Eiji said.

"We just played, Kikumaru," Tezuka said.

"Oh that's right…"

"Which school do we like more?" Sachi asked.

"Which ever school has the hottest cheerleaders," Momo replied matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, 'cause that makes sense…" Sachi said, rolling her eyes.

"Apparently it does to Momo…" Kyoko said.

"Of course! What else would you judge them on??" Momo challenged.

Kyoko pointed to the group of three boys, one who had a uni-brow, and the two girls from earlier. "Do you want other schools to judge Seigaku on them alone? You have to take the athletes into account!"

"I don't care if no one likes our school, we'll win anyway. What I care about are girls in skirts," Momo said.

"You're a disgusting excuse for a boy. Go home, the team doesn't need you," Sachi said, shaking her finger at him.

"Anyway, they're not cheerleaders, they're just fans. I meant the ones with the outfits that stand on top of each other," Momo clarified, ignoring Sachi.

"Fine, I'll go away then," Sachi said, walking out of ear shot of Momo.

"Momo, you give boys a bad name…" Kyoko agreed.

Ryoma nodded. "Dumb Momo-Sempai."

"Cheerleaders are usually really lame, though…they are just dumb, and they don't know what's going on…and they're too happy…" Kyoko started to rant.

"But they're hot!" Momo persisted.

Kyoko sighed. "I don't get you…" she said, starting to walk away.

"I agree," Ryoma said, jogging to catch up to her.

Kyoko blushed when she saw him following, but turned away to hide it. They walked over to Sachi.

"Hi, get sick of Momo, too?" she said when they reached her.

Sadaharu returned to the other group then. "Why are they all the way over there?"

"Momo is a teenage boy and they don't understand," Tezuka said.

"I like the hot ones, who doesn't?!" Momo asked.

"Well, I have all of our results," Sadaharu said.

The mini group had already made their way back to the group by then, and Kyoko looked at Momo quizzically. "We don't understand? I think it's Momo that doesn't understand…"

"You're on Momo's side, Tezuka?" Ryoma asked.

Tezuka replied with an expressionless stare, and said, "I don't agree, but you need to understand that he is a boy."

"What are the results?" Oishi asked, looking at Sadaharu nervously.

Sadaharu opened his notebook, and looked through his notes, then smiled.


	9. Sibling Rivalry

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Sibling Rivalry**

Sadaharu adjusted his glasses, and peered down at his notes. Everyone waited with anticipation. "Oishi, you would be best with a brunette girl; someone who's somewhat shy so you don't get flustered like you would with someone like Sachi," he started, to which Sachi flashed a peace sign to the group. "Momo does in fact like Sachi, but she wouldn't be perfect for him. Someone shorter who's not quite as aggressive would be a much better match…"

As the group took all of this in, Sadaharu turned the page and continued. "Surprisingly, out of everyone I interviewed, Sachi seems to be the most normal for a teenager; she likes who she does at the time, and doesn't think too far into relationships."

"And Fuji?! What's wrong with him?!" Momo asked.

"The term 'wrong' is not the correct word to use in this situation. And I think we all know what Fuji wants to do," Sadaharu said.

"…what do I want to do?" Fuji asked, looking at Sadaharu questioningly.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses, glanced at Sachi, and then looked at Fuji again. "Would you like me to say it out loud?"

Fuji looked at Sachi, who was looking at Sadaharu, clearly puzzled, and said, "No, I'm okay."

"So, to review, we've got to find a shy brunette for Oishi, a short, non-aggressive girl for Momo…" Kyoko started.

"And Sachi and Fuji are good together!" Eiji blurted out.

There was a slight pause, in which Sachi and Fuji both blushed and looked at the ground.

"Psh…what about you, Inui-sempai??" Momo said, breaking the silence as he tried to look in Sadaharu's notebook.

Sadaharu closed his notebook and fixed his glasses. "That is classified. And, that is all."

"HA! We all win, Momo. You owe us ten bucks each," Sachi suddenly exclaimed.

"What?! Since when?!" Momo asked.

"Since always, apparently," Ryoma said.

Oishi nodded in agreement and Sadaharu said, "I believe I have the agreement somewhere in one of my notebooks."

"I refuse," Momo said, crossing his arms.

"Then everyone hates you," Sachi said matter-of-factly. She turned to the courts. "How much longer is this thing? Never mind, don't answer. I'm going to be right back, don't worry! The outcome will be awesome."

With that, Sachi grabbed out her cell phone and Bombaclot, and walked off.

The rest of the group stood there and watched her go.

"Um…is anyone else confused, besides me?" Kyoko asked, to which the group slowly nodded their heads. "Oh, I'll be right back…I think I see Sengoku signalling me…"

Kyoko walked off to Yamabuki's courts to visit her long time friend Sengoku, and the rest of the group continued to discuss Sadaharu's results.

"It was obvious that you like Sachi, Fuji, when a lot of answers depended on her opinion," Sadaharu pointed out, opening his notebook once more.

"It's not my fault we both like apples best. I like spicy food and she doesn't," Fuji pointed out.

"But since you found that out, you've eaten it less."

"There is only one person I would even consider listening to on this subject and that's Ryoma," Fuji said, pointing at him. "Ryoma, let's say a girl you liked didn't like your favorite kind of food. Wouldn't you eat it less?"

Fuji made a gesture to Kyoko who was talking to Sengoku over at Yamabuki's courts.

Ryoma looked over at Kyoko, then fixed his hat and stared at the ground. "I guess…"

"What?! He's useless! What does little Echizen know about love?" Momo demanded.

"Said the ape with no girlfriend," Ryoma retorted, smirking at him.

Oishi looked at Fuji a little nervously. "Sadaharu's sort of right. You can't spend that much time with someone and not change a bit…"

"I don't care about the food he's stopped eating, I just want my tennis player back," Tezuka said.

"His priorities have changed! You!" Momo said, pointing at Sachi who was a ways away, talking on her cell phone. "You did this to him!"

"She's all the way over there…" Fuji said.

"I know, I can still point at her, you're doing it!" Momo said, glaring.

"BAH!" Eiji said, getting up and running around.

Everyone looked quizzically at Oishi. "He's been sitting here too long," he explained.

"Pointing at people is rude, anyway, Momo-sempai" Ryoma said, glaring at him.

"So is glaring," Momo countered, glaring back.

"…then stop glaring…"

"Oh, oops…Eiji-sempai, calm down!" Momo said, putting his foot out to trip Eiji.

Eiji jumped over his foot, and slowed down, passing out on the bench.

"See," Oishi said.

"Eiji…" Fuji said, shaking his head. "Oh, look, the other schools just finished."

"Next schools will be Yamabuki versus St. Rudolph. Athletes please take to the courts," the announcer said.

"I wish these games would hurry up," Tezuka said, glancing at his watch. "Or that they had more courts reserved so we could get more games out of the way at once."

Sachi and Kyoko came back from their respective sides at that moment.

"Okay, all set up! So, when are you playing again?" Sachi asked.

"This should be the last one. My vote's on Yamabuki. They've got Sengoku, so luck's on their side," Kyoko said, smiling.

"Well, after this one, we should be able to leave. We all get back together at the next step of the tournament next week. School does start next week, too, though," Tezuka said.

Eiji suddenly jerked up his head. "Nooo! I don't want to go back! Aren't there any trips coming up?"

"Shusuke, that's your brother! Shusuke, Shusuke look! Oh, I hope he wins. Can we go closer to wish him luck?!" Sachi asked.

"Of course, though he might not be too happy with that…" Fuji said.

"Pah, he loves me. Remember when I stopped by on Christmas and he was there? We played games and I won, so he must like me!"

"Your luck in games has nothing – yeah, he most likely does," Fuji said, walking down with Sachi.

Kyoko walked over to Yamabuki's side again. "Go Sengoku! Go Jin!" she said, clapping.

"Uhh…I'm not playing yet…" a voice behind her said.

She spun around and saw Sengoku standing there, smiling at her.

"Oh! Well, good luck when you do play!"

"I think I'm already lucky because I get to see you!" He said.

"Yay! I feel special," Kyoko said, laughing with him.

She waved over at Sachi who was on the other side.

* * *

"Yuuuuutaaaa! You have to win, okay?!" Sachi said.

"Uh, yeah, sure. What are you doing here?" Yuuta said, looking at Sachi funny.

"I brought Shusuke because he's cute and your brother and I wanted to say you have to win," Sachi said, to which Fuji blushed.

"I was going to…" Yuuta said.

"Good! And if you don't, I'll beat you next time," Sachi said.

"You'll never beat me in arm-wrestling."

"Psh, yeah right," Sachi said, rolling her eyes.

"Try not to challenge her at something like that, Yuuta," Fuji said, smiling at his younger brother.

Sadaharu walked up to the group. "Actually, that'd be a good idea. Yuuta is playing number two singles, so he's got time. I can take notes on this," he said, pulling out his notebook. "Please, go ahead."

"Eh, no, I'm only going to fight him if he loses!" Sachi said.

"You wouldn't win, anyway."

"Don't be silly," Sachi said, ruffling his hair. "You'd never beat me."

"I have. The last eighteen times."

Sachi turned away from him. "I…don't remember that."

"You lost, Sachi? But…what about all of those times you've gone against Momo?" Fuji said, confused.

"He's got a really good arm! You've seen his twisty moves! They're all, 'pfshyu'!" she said, twirling her fingers in a circular motion. "And go away, Sadaharu, you already know too much."

"Well, I have been working out a lot," Yuuta said, admiring his right arm muscle.

"I find that I know too little at all times," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses.

"I don't think so, Sadaharu. You know more than us. Care to share?" Fuji asked, smiling at him.

"Share what exactly?" Sadaharu asked.

"Things that you know we don't?"

"Hm…we'll see."

"I whispered that to you!" Sachi objected, glaring at Sadaharu.

"I cannot inform you. I am sorry," Sadaharu said, closing his notebook.

"Okay, Yuuta, you lose and I'll beat you up. Win and…I'll take you out for ice cream," Sachi said.

"I don't want ice cream. I want you to stop pretending you can beat me," Yuuta persisted.

"NEVER!"

"Don't push her, Yuuta. She might actually hurt you. And I don't like having any family members hurt," Fuji said.

"But I can take her…"

"Yuuta…you stand no chance," Fuji said, smiling.

Yuuta pouted and glared at Sachi and Fuji.

"Don't listen to him, Yuuta. He's just a fussy old man," Sachi said, waving her hand dismissively. "But it is true that you can't beat me."

"Oh yes I can."

"Fine, you win this match and we'll see who's the true…real…stronger…ist of them all! Good luck on your match!" Sachi said, kissing him on the cheek before walking off.

Fuji stood there staring at Sachi as she walked away, and then turned to glare at Yuuta.


	10. The Secret Plans

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**Chapter 10: The Secret Plans**

"I-I had nothing to do with that, I swear!!" Yuuta said, backing away from Fuji. "And I will beat her…"

Fuji stood there and continued glaring at Yuuta.

Sachi turned around. "Fuji, get over here and quit being such a baby!" she called out, pointing to the ground next to her.

Sadaharu opened his notebook and started writing.

"Knock it off. There's nothing wrong with me walking over to her!" Fuji defended.

Sadaharu nodded, but continued writing. Fuji sighed and walked over to Sachi, and turned back to see Sadaharu looking up at him, then went back to writing. "I'll figure out what that notebook says…"

* * *

"Number three singles players please enter the courts," the announcer said.

"Wow, that was fast…" Kyoko commented.

She was still on Yamabuki's side, talking to Sengoku.

"I'm still not playing. I'm number one," Sengoku pointed out.

"It's because you're very lucky…and skilled!" Kyoko said, winking at him. "Oh, look! Yuuta's playing! Go Yuuta!"

"GOOOOOOOO MINI FUJI!" Sachi yelled out from the other side.

Yuuta spun around and glared at Sachi.

Sachi waved and said, "Come on Shusuke, be a better brother."

Fuji smiled and waved at Yuuta. "Good luck!"

Yuuta waved back at Fuji, glanced at Sachi, and then kept walking toward the court.

"I think I heard Sachi cheer…" Kyoko said.

"Sachi? Oh, that girl you hang out with…she's kind of loud, then, huh?" Sengoku said.

"Only when she's cheering…maybe you're just not cheering loud enough!" Kyoko defended.

"YEAH! GO YUUTA! KICK THEIR ASS!" Sachi yelled, jumping up and down.

Eiji sat up. "What'd I miss? Hey, the Chibi-Fuji is playing! Go other Fuji!"

"You need to stop cheering for our opponents," Tezuka said.

"Especially if it's not by their name. You know he doesn't like to be associated with his brother," Oishi said.

"Hey, at least I'm cheering…" Eiji said, glaring at them.

"He needs to get over himself. Shusuke's always going to be his brother, and the sooner he just understands that they're different people, the sooner he can stop being a prick. Sorry, Shusuke, I know you hate it when your family gets hurt, but really…he's a prick," Sachi said.

Fuji had a little confused smile. "I'm torn between anger towards you and caring about you…"

"They're right, Eiji!" Momo yelled.

"Who's right? Who's right??" Eiji asked, looking around wildly.

"Fuji's lost it! Or he's obsessed with Sachi! …which means he's lost it!"

"That's not relative to anything we were saying. We were talking about not cheering for other teams," Sachi said.

"That, too," Momo said.

"But, since we're not the ones playing against them, we can cheer for whomever we want," Fuji said, smiling. "And I'm cheering for Yuuta."

"Oh, you should just go with the principle I talked about! Go with the ones with the hottest cheerleaders!" Momo said.

"And which team would that be, Momo?" Sachi asked.

"Hmm…" Momo said, leaning forward and looking between the two sides.

"This is pointless, we could be practicing. Come on, all of you, ten laps around the courts," Tezuka ordered.

"Aww…" Sachi said, sitting down and waving at the guys who start running.

Kyoko walked over and sat next to Sachi. "Are they doing laps?"

"Yes, they need to be training, not fooling around," Tezuka said, looking over at Kyoko.

* * *

"And this concludes today's scheduled tournament. We will see you all next week for the finals. Thank you," the announcer said.

"Oh good. Okay, you guys all have to go home and get clean, and then I have a super cool…well here," Sachi said, handing all of the players a piece of paper with an address on each one. "I'll see you guys later."

Sachi picked up Bombaclot who was sleeping, and looked around for Eiji.

"I don't want to go," Tezuka said bluntly.

"Come on Tezuka. Live a little. It's most likely just a party," Oishi said.

Tezuka didn't answer, but glared at the address instead.

Kyoko walked over to Ryoma, who handed her the paper. "What is this place?"

"It's Atobe's house…I think all of the teams are going…" Tezuka said.

"So let's be the cool ones and not show up. I don't want to go to a stinky party that Sachi's throwing and at the king of the apes' house no less," Momo said.

"I thought you were the king of the apes," Fuji said, smiling. "Well, I need to go find Yuuta so my sister can take us home."

"Do we have to go…?" Kyoko asked, looking at the paper.

"No," Tezuka said simply.

"Tezuka…yes we do. Sachi invited us, so we shouldn't be rude. Everyone, go home and get ready, and we'll all meet there," Oishi instructed.

Tezuka pretended to cough, to which Oishi glared at him and said, "And no faking illnesses."

"Aren't these sort of gatherings 'fun'? And from my notes, the house will be so large it will be easy to avoid anyone we don't want to talk with," Sadaharu said.

"Come on, Tezuka, it'll be huge. I'm sure even you will enjoy it at some point. Maybe Atobe will 'fall' into his own pool?" Oishi said, grinning and elbowing Tezuka in the side.

"Fine, I'll go…" Tezuka said grudgingly.

"Oh! Oh! Does that mean we get to sabotage?? We could pull off so many pranks in his house! Ne, Chibi! You'll help, right??" Eiji said, patting Ryoma on the head.

"Eiji! There you are! I've been trying to find you so we can go home and you can get not disgusting!" Sachi said, grabbing the very edge of his sleeve, and dragging him away. "Ugh, you're so sweaty!"

"Hey, hey! I played a game!! It's not my fault!" Eiji protested.

The rest of the group watched as they walked away.

"Spawn of Satan, she really is…" Momo said.

"You know, you don't have to comment every time she says something…" Oishi said.

"You really don't," Kyoko said, glaring at him.

Momo glared at Oishi and Kyoko. "I don't need you two commenting on every one of my comments! Hmph!" he said, walking off.

* * *

Kyoko and Ryoma were making their way to their houses after everyone left to get ready.

"So…what do you think we're going to his house for?" Kyoko asked.

Ryoma shrugged. "Something doesn't seem right, though…it's just too…simple…"

"Well, maybe Sachi planned something really simple to throw everyone off?" Kyoko suggested.

"Maybe…" Ryoma said, fixing his hat. "So, I'll come back here in a bit. I think Sachi is picking us up. Make sure you read what's on the note…it said to bring a few things…"

"Alright, thank you, Ryoma. See you in a few," Kyoko said, smiling as they arrived at her house.

"Wait, Kyoko…"

"Hm?"

"…nothing, never mind. I'll talk to you later," Ryoma said, walking off.

Kyoko stood by her door watching him go, a confused expression on her face.

_I wonder what he was going to say…_, she thought to herself.

She shrugged it off as nothing, then walked inside her house.

* * *

"So, why a party at Atobe's?" Eiji asked Sachi as they were on their way home.

"That's just the meeting ground; he's the only one with enough limos to take us all where we're really going," Sachi said.

"Ooh, ooh, where??"

"I rented out the beach! Just think, we can throw Momo off the dock and the water won't be pool warm; it'll be summer evening cool!" Sachi said, doing an evil laugh.

"I LOVE THE BEACH!" Eiji exclaimed, jumping up and down. "But…I don't get it. Why go to his house first? Why not just to the beach?"

"Because he has a beach house, which is where the party will really be. That way, Tezuka can push him into his own pool. It's just my own little way of making it up to him for somehow always messing up his practices, even when I don't do anything," Sachi explained.

"Wow, he should definitely be more appreciative of you! You care when he doesn't notice!"

* * *

"Hey, mom, I'm going to Atobe's house," Tezuka informed his mother when he was done getting ready.

"…what?" His mother gave him a quizzical look.

"Don't ask…"

"Sorry Mrs. Tezuka. Our friend decided she was going to throw a party and she's using his house," Oishi explained.

"Uhm…" Tezuka's mother said, blinking and staring at them. "What? Kunimitsu is going to a party! Wait, I need a camera! Be sure to take lots of pictures of him for me!"

She handed Oishi a camera. "No problem Mrs. Tezuka," he said with a laugh, walking out the front door with Tezuka.

* * *

"So we're going to his house…?" Sadaharu said, sitting at his desk, concentrating on his notebook. "No, no…that would mean we're actually going…"

"You're going to be late, Inui!" Sadaharu's mother yelled from the other room.

Sadaharu sighed, grabbed his stuff and, with a wave to his mother, walked out the door.

* * *

"Come on, come on, come on!" Eiji whined.

Sachi groaned. "Slow down! Are we getting the Fujis, too?" she asked, getting into her car.

Eiji looked up from his phone at her. "I think Ryoma and Kyoko, too…"

Sachi looked at the three seats in the back. "It's going to be squishy…"

* * *

Oishi and Tezuka arrived at Keigo's house before the group did.

"We're first…" Tezuka said.

"Let's go inside then," Oishi said, starting to walk toward the door.

Tezuka grabbed his arm, and pulled him back into the bushes just out of sight of the house. "We'll be nice and wait for everyone."

"…hopefully they all get here soon…" Oishi said.

Moments later, Sachi's car pulled up. "Hey guys, why are you hiding in the bushes? Look, it's a clown car!" she said, opening the back seat, and Ryoma, Kyoko, Eiji and Yuuta all fall out. "Cool, huh?"

Fuji got out of the passenger seat. "It wasn't that bad," he said, smiling.

Eiji glared at him. "Because you had your own seat. I had Yuuta half-sitting on me the whole time!"

Yuuta gave him an apologetic smile. "At least I wasn't all the way on your lap, like Kyoko was on Ryoma…"

Kyoko looked at Yuuta with a shocked expression, her face bright red.

Ryoma was brushing himself off. "Well, we didn't really have any other choice…it was fine…"

Eiji glared at Ryoma and muttered, "You were happy, Chibi-chan…"

Ryoma looked up and glared at him. "What was that, Eiji-sempai?"

Eiji smiled at him, and then ran over behind Sachi.

"I just…tried to think skinny…I hope I wasn't too heavy, though…" Kyoko said quietly, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"You weren't…" Ryoma said, adjusting his hat.

"Next time we'll get a bigger car!" Eiji declared, lightening the mood a little bit.

Kyoko looked up shyly at Ryoma, who did the same at her. They looked away and smiled at the same time, looking at Eiji, who gave them a confused look.

_What is this feeling…?_


	11. Truth or Dare

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven: Truth or Dare_**

"So, should we all go in now?" Tezuka asked.

"We should've already gone in…" Oishi pointed out.

"We were waiting for them."

"No, you just didn't want to deal with him, and it doesn't matter about going in. We're not partying here. This is just the meeting spot. See, look, more teams are coming!" Sachi exclaimed, pointing down the street where the other teams were walking toward them. "Hey look, sleepy head's actually awake!"

"How many people did you invite?" Tezuka asked in a slightly shocked voice.

"All the teams that played today. And then they got some people…"

"And why are we here if this isn't where the party is?" Oishi asked.

"Eiji, would you care to explain?" Sachi asked.

"We're going to the beach! We're going to the beach!!" Eiji said, jumping around in circles.

"The beach? Oh, that sounds like fun!" Kyoko said.

"Well, at least there will be a lot of people keeping Keigo company so he won't bother us…" Tezuka said.

"Unless Sachi invites him over," Ryoma said, smirking at Tezuka.

"Actually, Eiji is only half right. It's the beach and Keigo's family's beach house…with a pool…and people will be standing around it…talking…" Sachi said, staring at Tezuka. "Some of them will be trying to make up for all the practices they ruined by talking to people. From. Other. Teams."

Sachi's eyes widen as she stares at Tezuka. He looked at her. "Good for them," he said, with the smallest smile on his face.

Eiji gasped and stared at Tezuka. "He's smiling! It's the end of the world!"

Tezuka turned and glared at Eiji.

"Aw, you ruined it, Eiji…" Kyoko said.

"Where is Keigo, anyway? Shouldn't he be out here addressing his guests?" Oishi asked.

"He's getting limos so we don't have another clown car accident. One per team so there is no angriness before there has to be," Sachi explained.

"Oh, a limo? Fun!" Kyoko said, smiling.

"We're riding in a limo! We're riding in a limo!" Eiji said, jumping in circles.

"Then why am I here with you guys? Where's my team?" Yuuta asked.

"I don't know, ask them, not me! Oh, I think that's some of them," Sachi said, pointing to the group from St. Rudolph.

"I believe nearly everyone is here now…" Sadaharu said.

"…I'll go with my team, then…" Yuuta said, walking over to his team.

"Bye, Yuuta," Fuji said, waving at him.

"Well, if everyone is here, we'd better hurry this thing up…" Tezuka said, looking around impatiently.

"Oh, there they are," Sachi said, looking at the limo that pulled up.

Keigo got out of it, and held open the door. "Sachi, you'll be joining me?"

"Uh, I guess if you want me to?"

"You can have her!" Momo exclaimed, pushing Sachi over to him. "Bye spawn of Satan!" He walked over to the rest of the Regulars, rubbing his hands and cackling. "I got rid of the evil!"

"Nope. You missed a major portion of it," Ryoma said, pointing at Momo and smirking.

"Be respectful to your Sempai!" Momo said, glaring at Ryoma.

"Oh…" Fuji said, watching Keigo and Sachi walk off. "She should've ridden with us…"

"The car ride will be over faster than you know it, Fuji. Then you'll see her again," Kyoko said, smiling at Fuji.

"No, it'll be nice and long so I won't have to see him," Tezuka said.

They started to get into the limo when Eiji pushed Momo. "You made my sister go away! I say he has to walk!"

"I agree," Fuji said, smiling.

"Okay," Kaidoh said, getting into the limo after the rest of the Regulars and locking Momo out.

"Hey! HEY!" Momo exclaimed, pounding on the windows.

"I'd ask if we should let him in, but I can already guess what the group opinion will be…" Kyoko started.

"No," was everyone's answer.

"Yeah, I figured…" she said, moving over a little closer to Ryoma to make room for Fuji who was on the other side of her. "So, does anyone know what we're doing when we get to the beach?"

"Push Keigo into the pool!" Eiji said.

Kyoko looked over and noticed Tezuka smile a little.

"Oh, and play in the water, and make sand castles, and bury Chibi-chan…" Eiji listed, counting them on his fingers.

"No," Ryoma said simply.

"And then steal his hat when he falls asleep, and drink Fuffy-loo-loo drinks…" Eiji continued.

"Fuffy-loo-loo?" Oishi asked.

"Sachi's name for blended smoothies in fun cups with umbrellas!"

"…right…"

"Hm…Fuffy-loo-loo drinks sound pretty good…" Kyoko commented.

"And then we'll be at Atobe's beach house so we can get black mail on him!" Eiji said.

"So far, I'm agreeing with Eiji's ideas…" Tezuka said.

"Really?? Yes! And if the captain says they're alright, then the rest of you have to go along with it, too! Or you're off the team!" Eiji exclaimed, pointing at Momo out the window.

"…why are you pointing at me, Eiji-sempai?? Just let me in! All the other limos are getting ready to leave!!" Momo exclaimed.

From her limo, Sachi looked out the window and saw Momo. "They locked out Momo!" she said, laughing.

"Does he give you a hard time?" Keigo asked.

"Oh, every day. It's our thing."

"I could always get back at him or something."

"No thanks. I'm afraid you'd like, hire a hit-man and kill him. And then I'd be bored," Sachi said, rolling down her window, pointing at Momo and laughing before rolling it back up.

"What the…" Momo said, turning and shaking his fist at Sachi, before going back to pounding on the windows.

"Hopefully he doesn't break the windows…" Kyoko said.

"He is as big as an ape, so I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Kaidoh said.

"Momoooo! Can you heeeeear me??" Eiji asked, and began to make faces at Momo through the window.

"…yes, Eiji-sempai, I can hear you…and I can see you, too! Now let me in!" Momo said.

"Only if you swear you won't hurt any of us."

"I swear."

"And play gang-up truth or dare in the limo."

"Fine!"

Eiji snickered quietly and opened the door. Momo closed it behind him, and turned to see Eiji smiling at him.

"Okay, first question, Momo: Truth or dare?"

"Truth…wait, why me?"

"'Gang up truth or dare'…we all get to ask you questions and you can't ask us."

"What?! How is that fair?!"

"You already made the deal."

"I have it right here that you did," Sadaharu said, showing Momo his notebook.

"'Momo said fine to Eiji's demand of playing gang-up truth or dare in the limo'," Momo read aloud, then glared at Sadaharu who took back his notebook.

"Well, now…Eiji you start," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses.

"Okay, so truth, huh? What's my middle name?" Eiji asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"That's not a true or false question!" Momo said.

"Good, I was testing you. Okay," Eiji said, tapping his chin. "Do you own any pink underwear?"

Momo stared at him with big eyes.

Ryoma put his head against the back of his chair. "Why are they doing this?"

Kyoko shrugged. "To torture Momo?"

"Well, that part I get…"

"Of course not! Why would I?!" Momo finally answered.

"You have to tell the truth," Eiji reminded him.

"Fine, but I don't wear them. It was a joke gift from my sister…"

Eiji laughed at him. "Okay, okay…Chibi-chan, do you have a good question?"

"Yeah, why are we playing this game?" Ryoma said.

"Eh??" Eiji said, patting Ryoma's head hard. "No, no. That's not how you play this game! Silly Chibi-chan…"

Ryoma sighed and looked at Momo. "Okay…what's the name of the girl you like right now?"

"Don't I get a choice of truth or dare first?!" Momo asked, looking around panicked.

"I don't think those are in the rules," Tezuka said.

"Just answer," prodded Oishi.

Momo sighed. "Which girl?"

"There's more than one! There's more than one!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Okay, list the names of the girls you like," Ryoma said, rolling his eyes. "And don't blame me for the rules of this game…I don't know how it works…"

"Only Eiji apparently knows the rules…" Tezuka pointed out.

"ANSWER!" Eiji said, pointing at Momo.

"Wait, what are the rules?" Oishi asked.

"It's truth or dare, except Momo can't ask us truth or dare. We can only ask him," Eiji explained.

"So I pick dare!" Momo said.

"Fine, I dare you to eat a Dixie cup full of sand at the beach," Ryoma said.

"Better than telling you who I like!"

"You're insane, Momo…" Oishi said.

"Won't he get sick?" Kyoko asked.

"Probably, but he chose his path," Ryoma said, shrugging and smirking at Momo.

"Well, as long as he's okay with the outcome…"

"Okay! Next up is…Tezuka!" Eiji announced.

"…truth or dare, Momo?"

"Dare!"

"That's boring," Eiji said.

"He'll just ask me the same question as Ryoma…you all will!" Momo said.

"He is right you know…" Oishi agreed.

"Fine! Game over due to the robot's head exploding of overload of one question!" Eiji declared.

"Wow, Eiji…" Tezuka said.

"But you're willing to take another painful dare?" Kyoko asked, shaking her head.

"I'm not a robot…" Momo said.

"Yeah, he's an ape," Ryoma corrected.

"Yea—no! I'm not either!"

"At least you guys stopped playing," Ryoma said.

"Are we there yet?" Eiji whined.

"I think we have been for three minutes…" Fuji said, waving to Sachi who was standing outside of the limo looking at them confused.

"YAY!" Eiji exclaimed, rushing out of the door. "Beach! Beach! Beach!"

"At least we all didn't have to sit on each other like the other car," Kyoko said laughing.

"I wouldn't have minded…" Ryoma said quietly.

"Huh?" Kyoko asked, looking back at him.

"…nothing. Let's go find a Dixie cup for Momo to eat sand out of," he said.

Kyoko smiled. "This will be fun."


	12. Sand Castle Demolition

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Twelve: Sand Castle Demolition_**

Kyoko and Ryoma walked over and found a Dixie cup lying on a picnic table close by. Ryoma picked it up and handed it to Momo.

"Dixie cup?" Sachi asked, looking at the group confused.

"Momo has to eat sand," Fuji explained.

"Oh. Well, I'm going to the pool now," she said, glancing at Tezuka before walking to the house.

"I think I need to go to the pool, too…you guys should…go train or something," Tezuka said, walking after Sachi.

"What's with Sachi and Tezuka?" Fuji asked when the two had walked off.

"They've got secret plans!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Secret plans?"

"Yeah! …I wanna go the beach now! I'm borrowing this," Eiji said, grabbing Ryoma's arm and dragging him to the beach.

"…borrowing?" Kyoko asked.

"From you…you'd better go just in case Eiji decides to throw Echizen into the water…" Momo said.

Kyoko gave him a look of confusion, but jogged to catch up to Ryoma and Eiji.

Fuji turned to Oishi. "Not the secret plans he was telling me about with you two…"

"We have secret plans? I didn't even know…" Oishi said. "Maybe I should go double check on Eiji…I don't know if Kyoko alone can contain him..."

As Oishi ran off Fuji watched him go and then looked at the house. "I wonder what's up with them…" he said.

* * *

In the pool area, Keigo was talking to a random person when Sachi walked in. "Yes, this is one of my favorite beach houses. It was Sachi's idea to come here. Oh, here she is now," he said, waving at her and smiling.

"Hi Keigo, who's this? Ah, I stopped caring. Anyway, I tried finding your Fuffy-loo-loo drinks and I couldn't! Are they out here or inside the kitchen, because that's where I looked first…" she said.

"There's a table just over there," he said pointing across the way. "It has all of the beverages you could think of."

"Cool, thanks! Be right back," she said, looking around for Tezuka on her way over there.

Tezuka walked in at that moment and up to Keigo, who was watching Sachi walk away. "Hey, Atobe, can I talk to you by the pool really quick?"

Keigo waved a hand at Tezuka. "Just one moment…" he said, continuing to talk to the person he was with.

* * *

At the beach, Eiji was burying Ryoma with sand, while Kyoko and Fuji stood by watching.

"You're going to dig me out afterward, right Eiji-sempai?" Ryoma asked.

Eiji didn't answer, but continued burying and humming instead.

"Don't kill him, Eiji; he's just a little guy after all…" Fuji said.

"I'll get you some water Chibi-chan! Be right back!" Eiji said suddenly, jumping up and walking off.

"...he's not coming back is he?" Ryoma asked.

"I don't think so," Fuji said. He looked over and saw his brother. "Be right back."

"Yeah right…" Ryoma said.

"Don't worry, I'll stay here with you, Ryoma," Kyoko said.

"Thanks, Kyoko," Ryoma said.

Kyoko smiled at him. They sat and talked for a while until Fuji and Yuuta walked back over.

"Where's Sachi? We still have a fight to settle," Yuuta said, looking around.

"One of you is going to get hurt and that's not okay," Fuji said.

"I wonder how Tezuka's doing…" Kyoko said.

* * *

With a Fuffy-loo-loo drink in hand, Sachi made her way over to Tezuka. "Kun-kun! You haven't done anything yet!"

"He keeps talking to that guy," Tezuka said.

"I'll fix it," Sachi said.

She walked over to the two, grabbed the guy by the collar, and walked out with him.

"H-hey, what are you—" the guy protested as the doors closed behind them.

"Okay, so Atobe…" Tezuka started.

Keigo looked at him annoyed. "What?"

Tezuka turned and, before Keigo could react, pushed him into the pool. "Wow, I figured you would've fought a little…" Tezuka said, moving back a little so he wouldn't get splashed.

Sachi rushed back in at that moment. "That was awesome!" she exclaimed, high fiving him. "Now…RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

Sachi grabbed his hand and they ran out before Keigo got out of the pool.

"That felt pretty good…" Tezuka commented as the two ran by Kyoko, Ryoma, Fuji and Yuuta.

Yuuta pointed at Sachi. "You! We've got a score to settle!"

Eiji ran back and sat next to Ryoma. "Okay! I got some new shapes to make the sand into!" he said, showing him several different shaped sand moulds.

"I thought you were getting water…" Ryoma said.

"Oh, I guess I forgot...but these are better!"

"Hi Eiji! Bye Eiji!" Sachi said, waving at him as they passed.

"Hi! Bye! I wonder why they're running so fast," Eiji said, momentarily pondering this. "Oh well."

He went back to playing in the sand. Kyoko sat down next to him and made several shapes on the sand that was covering Ryoma.

* * *

At the pool, Sadaharu was sitting and making notes on Keigo's reaction to getting pushed in, when Keigo emerged from the pool. He looked around, then stared at Sadaharu with a hard look.

"Where. Did. They. Go," he said.

"According to my data, it would seem they are running along the beach in order to get away from you," Sadaharu reported.

Keigo grabbed a towel, and ran out the door.

"Hm…interesting…" Sadaharu said, walking out and continuing writing.

* * *

Keigo ran by the group at the beach, and asked, "Where did they go?"

Yuuta pointed in the direction Sachi and Tezuka ran off in, and Keigo started that way.

"Why would you do that? Now Sachi's going to get hurt," Fuji said.

"Oh well. Hey, I heard Atobe has a tennis court in this place. Want to play?" Yuuta asked.

"Maybe later. I just spent the afternoon at a tennis competition; I'd rather talk with my brother before he leaves again."

"I'm here for the next few weekends, you know that. Why not play now and talk later?" Yuuta persisted.

Fuji just smiled and took a sip of the drink he had.

"And…adding the last touch…" Eiji said, standing on the tip of his toes in order to put a flag on the giant castle him and Kyoko made on Ryoma. "And it's finished!"

Kyoko and him stood back to admire their work. "Beautiful!" Kyoko complimented.

"We did it!" Eiji high fived Kyoko, then looked at Ryoma. "Now Chibi-chan, you can't get up for a while."

"What…?" Ryoma said.

"You wouldn't want to mess up our beautiful creation…" Eiji started, glaring at Ryoma. "Would you?"

Ryoma sighed.

As Keigo ran by, he knocked into the sand castle, causing the whole thing to collapse on top of Ryoma.

"Ei-ji-sem-pai…help!" Ryoma yelled from under the sand.

Eiji pretended to cry. "My creation…ruined!!" he wailed.

"Ah, Ryoma!!" Kyoko exclaimed, digging Ryoma out and helping him to his feet, holding his shoulders so he didn't fall over. "Are you okay?"

Ryoma brushed himself off and looked at Kyoko. "Yeah, I think so…thanks…" he said, glaring at Eiji who was picking up sand between his fingers and pretending to cry. "Next time, don't let Eiji borrow me, okay, Kyoko?"

Kyoko looked at him and felt her face start to turn red. "I won't," she promised, smiling at him.

He smiled back, and they sat next to each other and watched Eiji cry over the remains of his once beautiful castle.


	13. The Chase

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: The Chase**

"Quick Kun-Kun, idea of how to get Keigo not to kill us when he finds us," Sachi said.

"Uh, I don't know, but do we really need to hide here? I'm cramped," Tezuka said.

"I don't trust how quickly you can climb a tree. Damn, I wish I had my car here," Sachi said.

"No. We don't want it to turn into a car chase."

"Well, you feel energized enough to start running again?"

"I guess…" Tezuka said, grabbing Sachi's hand before running.

* * *

"Do you guys know where Sachi and Tezuka are going?" Fuji asked, looking at the rest of the group.

"All I know is that he ruined my beautiful work of art," Eiji said, pretending to cry again.

Sadaharu walked over and looked at the group. "Tezuka pushed Atobe into his own pool. Sachi was the 'bait' in operation, and they are now trying to get away from him," he said, opening his notebook and showing everyone the diagram of what happened.

"Man, I wish I saw it…" Eiji said, pouting.

"That's a well drawn diagram, Sadaharu…" Kyoko said.

"I think you took too many notes, though…" Ryoma pointed out.

Momo walked over to the group at that moment. "I can't find any hot girls here…" he said, sighing.

"Should we go see if we can find Sachi and Tezuka? I'm worried…Keigo might hurt her," Fuji said.

"Keigo might hurt Sachi? Happy day!!" Momo exclaimed.

Eiji kicked sand at Momo. "I hope that got in your pants!"

Momo squirmed around. "A little bit. Did any of you see Tezuka push Keigo into the pool?! It was great! It was so nice to see someone else get shoved in instead of me!"

Sadaharu flipped through his notebook. "I don't think so. I overheard Atobe asking Kyoko how likely it was he could win her over. But that was when he thought she was dating Tezuka…"

"Well, he's certainly in a rush to see her right now…" Ryoma said.

"But I doubt anything irrational would happen," Kyoko said.

"And when he asked me for her, I told him that he couldn't bribe me," Fuji said.

"Well, then nothing to worry about. Let's just try to not get in the middle of this," Oishi said.

The rest of the Hyotei Regulars walked over. Kabaji cracked his knuckles and glared at the Seigaku players.

"It's like a gang war," Eiji commented.

"I think it's too late for not getting in the middle of things…" Kyoko pointed out, hiding behind Ryoma.

Eiji leaned to Ryoma. "I can take the small, acrobatic guy if you take him," he said, pointing at Kabaji.

"Yeah, right, Eiji-sempai…" Ryoma said.

"Now, now…no one has to get hurt…" Oishi said, looking around nervously at everyone.

One of the Hyotei players, known as Yushi, glared at Momo.

"Yo!" Momo said, waving.

"We saw Atobe get pushed into the pool by Tezuka," he said, continuing to glare.

"Ah, he's already chasing them. Don't worry about it," Eiji said, waving his hand. "Was it funny?"

"Eiji…" Oishi said, rubbing his temples.

"What??" Eiji asked, looking at Oishi funny, then back at the Hyotei players.

"Then you should go find Tezuka. We had nothing to do with it…" Kyoko pointed out.

"Just be aware that Sachi didn't do anything wrong," Fuji said.

"Except she was the bait, exploiting Atobe like the fool he is!" Eiji exclaimed.

"EIJI!" Fuji said.

Kabaji pounded his fist against the palm of his other hand.

"Pff, I can take him," Momo said, walking up to Kabaji. He froze, and then started walking backward to hide behind Oishi. "You can take him."

Oishi gave Momo a look of disbelief. "Eiji was just kidding…"

"I was? I don't think I wa--" Eiji was cut off by Momo tackling him, and covering his mouth with his hand.

"He was," Momo said, smiling.

"Maybe we can just go find Keigo, Sachi and Tezuka…" Kyoko suggested.

The Hyotei players shoved past the Seigaku group, and made their way in the direction the captains and Sachi had gone.

Yuuta laughed. "Eiji, wow, seriously? Man, Shusuke, you sure know how to pick friends."

"It'd be nice if you didn't insult my friends," Fuji said, smiling.

Eiji shoved Momo off of him and coughed up sand. "What was that for?!"

"You were trying to get us all killed!" Momo exclaimed.

"Was not! I was just telling the truth!" Eiji defended.

"Eiji…" Oishi said, shaking his head.

"Should we follow them?" Kyoko asked.

"Yeah!!" Eiji said.

He started to run forward, but was cut off by Momo catching him by his collar.

"You'll walk at the same speed as us, and only talk when we tell you to," Momo instructed.

Eiji crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Momo.

"Well, this doesn't involve me so I'm leaving," Yuuta said, walking off.

Fuji waved at Yuuta.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't go save them. I mean, practice will be so much more fun without both of them around. Hell, life will be more fun without both of them around! Let's stay put," Momo said, smiling at everyone.

The rest of the group looked at him unconvinced.

"I want to go check on them…" Fuji said.

"Me, too! Me, too!" Eiji said, jumping up and down.

"For the interest of the team, I should probably go, too…" Oishi said.

"In order to show a united front, and one that will be most intimidating, we must all go as a team," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses.

"Kaidoh isn't here…I guess we can't go then. Shame…hey! Let's throw Eiji in the lake!" Momo suggested.

"No!" Eiji protested, backing away from him.

"Come on Eiji-sempai, it'll be fuuuun," Momo said, advancing toward him.

"No, no, no!" Eiji yelled, running away.

Momo chased after him, and Oishi sighed.

"No…you guys…someone will get hurt…" Oishi said.

Fuji started walking.

"Good luck Fuji-sempai," Ryoma said.

"What do you mean good luck Fuji? We're going, too," Kyoko said, grabbing Ryoma's arm and walking after Fuji.

Sadaharu followed, too. Eiji started running in that direction as well, and rammed straight into Kabaji.

Kabaji turned around, and picked up Eiji off the ground, setting him on his feet.

"Uh…thanks…" Eiji said.

Kabaji nodded and continued walking with his team.

"Eiji!" Oishi exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Are you alright?"

"I am now…" he said, brushing himself off. "The big one helped me up."

Momo ran over. "He could've killed you, Eiji-sempai!" he yelled.

"But he didn't!" Eiji pointed out, smiling.

Sadaharu wrote in his notebook as the group continued walking.

* * *

"Okay, so we're like three miles away, do you think they'll follow us this far?" Sachi asked.

"Yes," Tezuka replied.

"Well, we'll just have to hide on that playground," Sachi said, pointing to a nearby playground. "They won't look there, will they?"

"Not for me, they'd look for you, though."

"Damn," Sachi said, snapping her fingers. "Well, you go hide up there. I'll hang back as bait…again…it's you they want to kill."

Tezuka nodded and headed for the tunnel slide.


	14. The Long Walk

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: The Long Walk**

After a mile and a half of walking, some group members were starting to wonder where their captain and Sachi had run off to.

"Do you think we already passed them?" Kyoko asked.

"They were running pretty fast…" Fuji commented.

"By my calculations…" Sadaharu started, looking in his notebook. "We are approximately half way there."

"Only half way??" Eiji whined.

"No way, they went three miles?! No one's going that far to get back at Tezuka!" Momo exclaimed.

Sadaharu pointed at the Hyotei players who were a few yards ahead. "I think they're willing to walk the whole way."

"It's not that bad. I can make it in no time!" Eiji said. "Come on, think of it as laps! Then Tezuka will be happy with us, and we won't have to do so many next practice!"

"Nice wishful thinking Eiji…" Fuji said.

"Hopefully Keigo hasn't gotten to them yet," Kyoko said.

"He better not have…" Fuji said quietly.

"It's okay, Fuji. I'm sure they're fine," Oishi comforted.

"I bet they're hiding! Just so we can't find them…who would do such a thing?!" Momo exclaimed.

Ryoma looked at Momo in disbelief. "I don't know, Momo-sempai…"

The Hyotei group noticed Seigaku gaining on them, and started running as well.

"Oh, the race is ON!" Eiji exclaimed.

Everyone started shoving one another to try to get to the front first.

Kyoko and Ryoma jogged in the back together, watching the two teams go at it.

"Someone's going to end up hurt…" Kyoko said.

"As long as we don't, it'll be okay," Ryoma said, smirking. "It's their own faults for being dangerous. I'm sure they'll stop before someone actually does get hurt."

"I guess so…I think you have too much faith in the team," Kyoko said, giggling.

Ryoma smiled and nodded. "Maybe…"

* * *

"I honestly have no idea where he is," Sachi said.

"You were running with him the whole time!" Keigo exclaimed, looking at her unconvinced.

She and Keigo were standing up just a little bit away from the two teams.

"Sorry, hon. Hey, look! All of your friends are here to see you!" Sachi said, pointing to the blob of people running toward them.

Keigo turned and saw all of them. "Stop!" he said, snapping his finger in the air.

The whole group stopped running at the same time.

"Hey, wait, why did we stop, too?" Eiji asked, looking at everyone else in confusion.

"Well, at least Sachi's okay. I wonder where Tezuka went…" Kyoko said.

Fuji smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad she's okay."

Eiji gasped and pointed to the playground a few feet away from Sachi. "A playground! I wanna go play on it!" he said, jumping up and down.

"EIJI! This is a BEACH party, not a Playground party! If you go over there I cannot be responsible for the physical pain I will inflict upon you!" Sachi exclaimed.

"Sorry Sachi…" Eiji said, looking at the ground guilty.

"That's right. Now, I have no idea where Tezuka went. He's way more used to running than I am, so he kept going and I stopped here. He went that way," Sachi said, pointing through the playground. "If you want to keep going, go ahead."

"Let's go back, I need to make sure no one's destroying my house," Keigo said, glaring at Fuji before walking off with his team.

"That was close," Sachi said, walking over to the slide and knocking on it.

Tezuka came out the bottom. "You have no idea how loud that was…"

"Well, at least one disaster is avoided for now…" Kyoko said.

"What?! HE got to play on the playground?! That's so unfair!" Eiji complained.

"Well, he is the captain…" Oishi pointed out.

Eiji glared at Oishi.

"Why did Keigo glare at me?" Fuji asked.

"Because you didn't go for his bribe earlier," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses. "That's an interesting hiding spot. Well thought out…"

"He didn't get to play, Eiji," Sachi said. "He was hiding so Kabaji wouldn't rip his head off. I don't know why they all got so mad; it's just a pool…oh, now I want to go swimming! Can we go back?"

"Oh…I guess that makes sense…good thinking, Tezuka!" Eiji complimented.

"Yeah…" Tezuka said, and then looked at Sachi. "Yeah, we can go back now. Thanks for helping me, Sachi."

"No problem…man I don't want to walk three miles…Momo, you're huge, carry me," Sachi said, jumping on his back. "Mush, mush!"

"I am not huge! And I'm not a dog!" Momo protested.

"Just shush and carry her, Momo," Kyoko said.

Momo stood there and tried to argue when Tezuka walked over to them. "This isn't getting anywhere," he said, picking her up off of Momo's back and started walking. "Feel free to stay here, Momo."

Momo watched Tezuka and Sachi start walking. "What…just…happened…?" he asked.

"Oh! Someone should carry me, too!" Eiji said, jumping on Fuji's back. "Go, go, gooo!"

"Eiji…you're perfectly capable of walking…" Fuji pointed out.

"So?? Just go!"

Fuji sighed and started walking after Sachi and Tezuka.

* * *

"I want to play in the pool," Sachi declared when the group was almost to the house. "It's been a while since I've played chicken!"

"Yes! Fuji and I will take home the gold!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Who said we were going to be partners?" Fuji asked, smiling at him.

"Well, there's the house," Kyoko pointed.

"Wow, we really did get here faster…" Oishi said.

"It looks like you'll be able to find opponents," Ryoma said, pointing to the groups of all the teams hanging out right outside the house.

"Okay, first we need to eat and drink so we can get our strength up," Sachi said. "Then we must find worthy people to play with…Sadaharu, are you writing this down?"

"Every word," Sadaharu confirmed, continuing to scribble notes in his notebook.

"I'm sure Yuuta would love to play with us," Fuji said, smiling.

"Hopefully Hyotei will want to play with us…" Kyoko said quietly.

"I don't know…it might actually be nice if they weren't around," Ryoma said, smirking.

"I'll take you down, Sachi!" Momo exclaimed, pointing at her.

"That is, if you can actually get a partner, Momo," Eiji snickered.

"No one wants to play with you, Momo," Sachi said bluntly. "Now, I need to find the perfect partner."

Sachi wandered into the house.

"I need to find food!" Momo exclaimed, walking off.

"Well, at least he wasn't upset over what Sachi said…?" Kyoko pointed out, smiling.

Eiji jumped off of Fuji's back. "Okay! Time to go look around this place!" he said, running off.

"I think I'll go help out Sachi," Fuji said, walking into the house.

Kyoko looked around awkwardly, then at Ryoma. "Should we just go hang out by the pool until everyone else comes?"

"Oh, sure," Ryoma said.

"I'll race you," Kyoko said, challenging Ryoma's look.

He smirked at her. "Don't feel bad when I beat you terribly bad."

Kyoko smiled. "We'll see."

"One…two…" Ryoma started, getting into position.

"Three!" Kyoko said, rushing forward.

"…hey!" Ryoma exclaimed, running to catch up to Kyoko.

He caught her by the shoulder and she tripped, Ryoma toppling on top of her.

They laid on the sand, and looked at each other, embarrassed.

Then, they both burst out in laughter. A few people nearby looked at them funny, but Kyoko and Ryoma didn't care.

They just kept laughing.


	15. Partner Search

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 15: Partner Search**_

Sachi spun around and saw Fuji behind her.

"Oh, Fuji, hi, you looking for someone?" she asked.

"Well…you actually…"

"Oh, you found me!" Sachi said, smiling. "Where'd your brother go?"

"He's over there," Fuji said, smiling and waving at Yuuta, who was over by the snack bar.

Yuuta saw Fuji wave at him and walked over. "Hey, what's up?"

"We're planning on playing Chicken in a bit," Fuji explained.

"Aw, you are just the cutest little thing," Sachi said, pinching Yuuta's cheek.

Yuuta rubbed his cheek. "Why?"

"Because you're Shusuke's little brother, so you're just so cute and I love you this much," she said, holding out her arms.

"Thanks?"

"You're welcome," Sachi said, then gasped. "Shusuke! Shusuke look! It's Oishi's perfect girl!"

She pointed to a brunette girl across the room right when Oishi walked over to the group.

"Hey, how's the partner search coming?" Oishi asked.

"We just found the perfect girl for you," Fuji said, pointing at the girl.

"Yeah right, do you not realize who that is? It's Ann Tachibana. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work," Oishi said.

"Who's Ann? She looks shy," Sachi said.

"Not at all," Oishi said.

"Hmm…" Sachi said, glaring at her. "Well, she has that shy girl posture."

"Plus, I'm pretty sure Momo likes her…" Oishi pointed out.

Momo walked up behind the group. "I do not like Sachi! Why don't you guys give it a rest already?!"

"We weren't talking about Sachi…we were talking about Ann," Oishi said, pointing at her.

"Oh," he said, seeing her. "Well…I…haven't talked to her in a while…so….I'll just, um, go say hi."

"Oh, darn…sorry Oishi," Fuji said, smiling at him as Momo walked off.

"Screw Momo, I swear she's perfect for you. I'll get to the bottom of this," Sachi said, whistling.

Sadaharu suddenly appeared in their group. "Yes?"

"Awesome! It worked! Okay, that girl," Sachi said, pointing at Ann. "Is she perfect for Oishi?"

"I will have the results by the end of the night," Sadaharu said before walking off.

"…I can already tell this won't end well…" Oishi said.

Momo and Ann walked over.

"Hey guys," Ann said, waving. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you during the tournament, so I thought I'd come say hi."

"Oh, hello Ann. How's your brother?" Fuji asked.

"He's good. He's somewhere around here with Shinji and Kamio…"

Sachi peered at her.

"Uh, hello?" Ann said.

"Hi! I'm Sachi!"

"The one Momo rants about?" Ann asked, frowning.

"Most likely. I don't know any other me's…" Sachi said, turning to Fuji. "What are a Shinji and a Kamio?"

Fuji smiled at her. "Those are two of Fudomine's players."

"I do not rant about her…" Momo defended.

"Yes you do. You always talk about how annoying she is and how you don't like her…" Ann said.

"Oh, I guess I never noticed…" Momo said, laughing and rubbing the back of his head.

"Momo, that's all you talk about when I'm here. And why don't I know what a Fudomine is?" Sachi asked.

"Because they're not important," Yuuta said with a shrug.

"Yes, and because you're a reindeer, you're so much more important…" Sachi said, poking Yuuta in the tummy.

"…um…Sachi…Fudomine is the name of their school…" Fuji said, smiling at her.

"No I do not…I talk about other things, too…" Momo persisted.

"Like food…" Oishi suggested.

"Yeah! That takes up at least eighty percent of my thoughts," Momo said, smiling and nodding.

"Well, I still need to find good chicken people, so I'm ditching out on this," Sachi said, waving before she walked off.

"She's…interesting…" Ann commented.

"She's evil," Momo said bluntly.

"Are you going with her Fuji?" Oishi asked.

"Um…I don't think so…she didn't ask me to be her partner, so I'll let her find someone else…" Fuji said.

Yuuta patted Fuji on the shoulder. "You're very brave."

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," Fuji said, smiling.

"He understands girls better than you do apparently," Ann said. "She's most likely waiting for you to ask her, or else she likes someone else."

"Uh…yeah…exactly what I was trying to say…" Yuuta said.

"You're so insightful Yuuta," Momo said, rolling his eyes.

"So…" Fuji started, looking at Ann. "What should I do then…?"

Tezuka walked in the room just then and looked around nonchalantly as he made his way to the group. "Am I safe in here?"

"Way to be subtle captain…" Momo said.

Ann stared at Fuji. "Are you an idiot? I just told you!"

"I think I missed something…" Tezuka said.

"No, Shusuke's always been sort of dim," Yuuta said with a grin.

"Be careful Yuuta," Fuji said, smiling at him. "Okay…well, I'm going to go ask her then…"

Fuji walked off and Tezuka looked around at everyone confused. "Yeah…I definitely did miss something…but have any of you seen Keigo?"

"He hasn't come in here for a while, no, why?" Ann said.

"He pushed Keigo into the swimming pool a while ago," Momo explained.

"What??" Ann looked at him shocked.

"I had a momentary lapse in…"

"You can't play it off as temporary insanity, Tezuka," Oishi said. "Firstly, you planned it; secondly this isn't a court room."

Tezuka simply shrugged.

"Well, I'm sure he deserved it," Ann said with a laugh.

Tezuka nodded, but casually looked around.

"We'd find you innocent anyway, if we were the jury," Momo said. "He had it coming to him!"

* * *

Ryoma and Kyoko were lounging by the pool, talking about random things when Sachi rushed in. "You missed it! I found Oishi's perfect girl and get this, Momo likes her! It's great; we could turn this into a soap opera!"

"Oh, Momo likes her? Do you know her name?" Kyoko asked.

"It could be anyone…Momo's standards are pretty low for girls…" Ryoma pointed out.

"Ann or something. Anyway, I'm still trying to find a good person to play chicken with, but I'm taking a little break because I had to tell you about my soap opera idea. I sent Sadaharu out to figure out if this girl is perfect for Oishi or not, because I swear she is. But she doesn't seem to like me much," Sachi said, taking Ryoma's hat and spinning it on her finger.

"Oh Ann Tachibana? She's nice," Kyoko said, smiling.

"Yeah, Momo really likes her…but how is she perfect for Oishi?" Ryoma asked as he glared at her for taking his hat.

Fuji walked in at that moment and joined their group. "Um…hey, Sachi…did you want to be my partner for chicken…?" he asked.

"Oh yeah!" Sachi said, smiling at him before looking back at Ryoma and Kyoko. "And she is because she's how Sadaharu described his perfect girl. Although it's very close to Momo's perfect girl as well…well, I don't like Momo all the time and I always like Oishi so it's Oishi's perfect girl. Where's your brother?"

"With Oishi, Tezuka, Momo and Ann," Fuji reported.

"He'll get eaten alive! Momo was complaining about food…"

"Well, I think Oishi deserves a girl more than Momo does," Kyoko said smiling.

"Of course. Oishi-sempai is actually nice to people…" Ryoma pointed out.

"Well, we'll see how that goes…" Fuji said.

Sachi looked around and saw Tezuka walking toward the group. "Okay, quick before he gets here, is it just me or is Kun-Kun acting weird? I mean, he's not trying to get rid of me," she said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"You're not ruining his practice right now," Ryoma said.

Sachi tapped her chin. "Maybe…"

"Maybe it's because you're being more calm lately? And he likes being around people who are at least a little calm…" Kyoko reasoned.

"Which is why he doesn't like being around Momo-sempai or Eiji-sempai," Ryoma said with a smirk.

"Or maybe he likes you?" Kyoko said, shrugging. "Just get Sadaharu on the case and we'll figure it out!"

"Sadaharu's busy and he can't like me…we did that already," Sachi pointed out.

"Exactly," Fuji said with a smile.

"Maybe he likes YOU! He's trying to get to you through me, silly boy!"

Kyoko looked at Sachi in confusion. "Why would he like me?"

Sachi shrugged. "I thought I had something there…but I lost it. Oh, Tezuka!" she said as Tezuka joined their group. "You need a chicken partner…"

"You know, it might work better if you just told people you wanted to play…" Tezuka said.

"Good idea," Sachi said, jumping up on a chair. "EVERYONE GET IN THE GOD-DAMN POOL! WE'RE PLAYING CHICKEN!"

Everyone in the pool area looked at Sachi, then shrugged and looked at each other, in search of a partner.

Kyoko sat down on a chair.

"Aren't you going to play?" Ryoma asked, looking at Kyoko.

"Nah…I'm too scared of Sachi to play…" Kyoko said, looking nervously at Sachi who was dragging Fuji to the pool.

"Well, I'll stay here and…keep you company…" Ryoma said, shyly sitting on the chair next to her.

"Oh, thank you very much…sorry for the trouble…" Kyoko looked over in the other direction to hide her blush.

"No problem. I don't mind at all. In fact, I prefer it."

Kyoko looked over at him, puzzled.

"I mean…I didn't want to, um…." Ryoma stumbled over his words in order to avert Kyoko's confused gaze.

Kyoko laughed, and soon Ryoma was laughing with her.

"I prefer it, too," she said, smiling at him after they had finished laughing.

He smiled back, blushing the slightest bit.


	16. Interrogating Tezuka

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter 16: Interrogating Tezuka_**

"I need a partner!" Momo exclaimed.

"Ah! Sachi stole my partner!" Eiji said, pointing accusingly at Sachi.

"Eiji, I know how much you love him, but sometimes you need to be apart for a little while. Go play with Yuuta, he's a mini Shusuke!" Sachi said.

"YUUTA!" Eiji yelled, running off to find him.

Sachi turned to Tezuka. "You playing?"

"I'm going to the beach house because Atobe's going to show up any second now," he said.

Yuuta turned and saw Eiji charging at him.

"We're partners. Let's go!" Eiji said, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the pool.

"I'm sure Keigo won't do anything to you with so many people around…" Kyoko said.

"Unless he likes having an audience when he does that kind of stuff," Ryoma pointed out.

"Keigo plus audience equals best thing ever. I'm with Kun-Kun on the book it side of things," Sachi said, nodding approval at him.

"Someone call me when this is over with," Tezuka said, and walked toward the beach.

Sadaharu suddenly appeared.

"Figure it out yet?" Sachi asked him.

"No, Kyoko wanted me to do something for her?" he said.

"I did?" Kyoko said, looking quizzically at Sadaharu, then at Sachi.

"You said Sadaharu should be on the case to see if Kun-Kun liked me...I think," Sachi said, looking to Ryoma for confirmation.

Ryoma nodded at her.

"See! But you're busy, right?"

Sadaharu laughed. "I can handle more than two things at once."

The group stared at him.

"...Am I the only one freaked out by his laugh…?" Ryoma asked.

"No, Ry-Ry, you are not…at all…" Sachi agreed.

"Well, good luck Sadaharu!" Kyoko said encouragingly.

"Luck? Hm…I don't believe that will be a factor I'm considering, but thank you for the thought," Sadaharu said before walking off.

"Well, time to play Chicken. Come on Fuji, off with the clothes," Sachi said.

"What…?" Fuji asked.

"You mean you don't have a swimsuit under that? I wrote on the paper to bring a swimsuit. You didn't forget, did you?"

"No…I have it on under this…" Fuji said, taking off his clothes and setting them next to Kyoko's chair. "Okay…ready?"

"No…that's why I wanted to play…because I'm not ready…" Sachi said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"Hello Tezuka," Sadaharu said, sitting next to Tezuka on the beach.

"Inui," Tezuka acknowledged him.

"Why aren't you playing?"

"I'd rather not give Atobe the perfect opportunity to push me into the pool."

"Or was it because you couldn't find someone to play with?"

"No…"

"Hmm…I see…"

"What are you doing out here, anyway?"

Sadaharu paused. "So, did you want to play with anyone that already had a partner?"

"…that wasn't the answer I was looking for…"

Sadaharu nodded and wrote in his notebook before looking back at Tezuka. "To answer your question, I did not see the fun in that game and since most everyone is playing, I decided to find you."

"Right, okay."

"What's your favorite color?"

"This is weird…why are you asking me?"

"Just…trying to make conversation?"

"Oh, well…I like either blue or green, I guess…"

"Oh, okay…hmm…" Sadaharu nodded.

"What's your favorite color, Inui?"

Sadaharu looked at him. "What are you trying to figure out…?"

Tezuka stared at him with a confused expression.

Sadaharu coughed. "I mean, I like green, like my Inui juices."

"Uh-huh…have you given up on making them?"

"I've been doing other things, but I'd never give up on it."

"Oh…wouldn't want to do that, huh?" Tezuka said in a slightly sarcastic voice.

"Of course not," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses.

* * *

At the pool, the game of Chicken had already begun.

Sachi pushed Eiji off of Yuuta's shoulders. "You'll never win if you're this bad, Eiji!"

Momo walked over and sat next to Ryoma, eating off of a full plate of food. "I wanted to play, too…" he said, taking a bite of food.

"Maybe if you would've spent your time looking for a partner instead of looking for food, you would've gotten a partner…" Kyoko pointed out.

Ryoma looked at Momo, then at Kyoko and smirked. "Not a chance."

Momo swallowed his food. "Hey! I don't see you playing!" he said, pointing accusingly at Ryoma.

"It's too late to now. Kyoko would have, though," Ryoma said, looking at Kyoko for support.

Kyoko smiled and nodded her head.

"Stupid relationships…" Momo mumbled before walking off.

Kyoko and Ryoma laughed and waved to Momo as he walked away.

* * *

"Who was your first crush?" Sadaharu asked.

"I don't remember…who was yours?" Tezuka asked.

"Mathematics and Statistics."

"…is that so? …I should've seen that one coming…"

* * *

"Who do you think is winning?" Kyoko asked.

"The teams who are still on each other's shoulders, I guess…" Ryoma said.

"Oh! Sachi and Fuji are still in the game!"

"Hey, Fuji, are you bored of this?" Sachi asked.

"I'm up for anything," Fuji said.

"Okay, well I got bored," Sachi said, falling off his shoulders. "Aw, peas, I fell off. Come on, let's find something new to do."

* * *

"How long did you and Sachi date?" Sadaharu asked.

"I don't remember, a few weeks?"

"Do you feel like Fuji stole her from you?"

"I feel like these are weird questions…"

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "Do you not want to answer them?"

"I just think they're very random…"

"So you will answer them?"

Tezuka sighed. "No, I don't really…I mean, Fuji and her aren't dating yet, but I don't feel like he stole her from me."

"Since she's changed, do you wish you hadn't lost her?"

"I didn't lose anyone, we don't work well. Why are you asking me these questions?"

"To gather data, of course."

"Data on…?"

"A collection of things."

"Meaning…?"

"Like in all good movies, everything will be revealed."

Tezuka sighed again. "I guess I'll have to wait…"

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "Precisely."

"Do I get to ask you questions?" Tezuka asked.

"If you must."

Tezuka paused.

"There is a 97% chance you can't think of a single question."

"No, you have my mind stuck on the questions you were just asking me…"

Sadaharu smiled.

Eiji ran over at that moment. "Hey guys! We stopped playing Chicken…"

Sadaharu turned to him. "There is a seventy five percent chance that Sachi and Fuji dropped out because Sachi became bored of the game."

"Yeah, how did you know??" Eiji asked.

"Data never lies."

Eiji leaned to Tezuka and whispered. "He's scaring me!"

"Did you need something Eiji?"

"Oh…no, you told us to come get you when it was over…" Eiji explained.

Tezuka glanced at Sadaharu. "You coming, Inui?"

"My skills are needed elsewhere," Sadaharu said, walking off in a different direction.

"It was fun! But Sachi shoved me in the water, that's why I'm all wet," Eiji said, ringing out his wet hair.

"Hnn…"

"Yuuta was my partner. I think he's really mad because Fuji beat him…" Eiji said as the two joined the group where Yuuta was yelling at Fuji.

"Hey, I could take over for Sadaharu!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Take over for Sadaharu…?" Tezuka questioned.

Eiji took Tezuka's glasses, put them on, and pretended to write in an invisible notebook.

"…Eiji…give me my glasses back…" Tezuka said, glaring at Eiji, then turned to Yuuta and Fuji. "Why are you yelling?"

"Everything I ever do, you're right there to show me up, aren't you?! I'm sick of it!" Yuuta exclaimed.

Fuji said nothing and just stood there smiling.

"Stop smiling, damnit!"

"Yuuta, quit being such a prick," Sachi said.

She was lounging on one of the chairs, drinking a Fuffy-loo-loo drink.

"I'm not being a prick. I'm pissed off!" Yuuta defended.

"Don't yell at Sachi, Yuuta. Or else," Fuji said, smiling.

"Or else what?"

Fuji just smiled.

"One of these days…" Yuuta threatened.

"You are too being a prick, and you're being a sore loser. I pushed Eiji off of your shoulders because he sucks at chicken," Sachi said.

"HEY!" Eiji said.

"It's true, you're better at flippy thingies," Sachi said, waving her hand around before turning to Yuuta. "Not because Fuji's any better than you. I swear, sibling rivalry…" Sachi rolled her eyes.

"I have that all the time!" Eiji exclaimed.

"No, you just have a thousand siblings, no rivals."

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes, Eiji, there is," Fuji confirmed.

Eiji snapped his fingers. "Darn…"

Sachi looked over and saw Keigo walking over to their group. "Uh-oh, it's Keigo…run, Kun-Kun, run!"


	17. Gossip

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Seventeen: Gossip_**

"Well, hello there…Kun-Kun," Keigo said, smiling as he used Sachi's nickname.

Tezuka, on the other hand, cringed at the name.

"Ay!" Sachi said, jumping up and jabbing Keigo in the chest with her finger. "Don't call him Kun-Kun! That's MY name for him…" she said, then sat back on the chair. "Okay, continue."

"That was quite a stunt you pulled a little bit ago…care to explain?"

"Momentary lapse of judgement," Tezuka said.

"I think it's only fair if I return the favor," Keigo said.

"I don't think that works. See, you can't have pre-planned temporary insanity," Tezuka said.

"Is that what you're claiming?"

"It is."

"Quite the case you have there…but I'm sure I can conjure up another reason as to why I push you into the pool."

"But since you told me, I'll know not to go near a pool," Tezuka pointed out.

"The ocean works just as well," Keigo persisted.

Eiji leaned to Fuji and whispered, "It's a captain stand off!"

"No way you can lift Kun-Kun and carry him to the water. He's like seven hundred pounds!" Sachi exclaimed.

"I'd be dead…" Tezuka said.

"No, you'd be Momo," Sachi said, pointing to Momo who was making his way to the group with a plate of food.

Momo looked up as he reached the group. "I heard my name…"

Eiji started laughing. "It's funny because it's true…"

"At least he puts all of that food to good use," Fuji said, smiling.

"Oh, I'm strong enough to carry Tezuka, no matter how much he weighs," Keigo said, flexing his arm.

Sachi looked at Keigo as he showed off. "Sexy…" she said, then stood up. "I'm going for a beach walk. Ta-ta!"

Tezuka started walking with her, and Sachi asked, "What are you doing?"

"If you leave, he'll get his giant ape body guard to carry me and drop me in the water," Tezuka explained.

"Come on, you big chicken…"

"Who said my name? Was it Sachi?" Momo persisted. "I hate you Sachi! You're evil!!"

Sachi turned to him. "So I've heard."

"Oh, leaving so soon?" Keigo asked.

"Just…going for a walk on the beach," Tezuka said.

"Ooh…" Eiji said, leaning on Fuji. "How romantic."

Fuji pushed Eiji off of him and smiled as Tezuka glared at Eiji.

"Mind if I join you?" Keigo asked.

"The more the merrier! Except you Momo," Sachi said, pointing at him.

"Fine I'll go find somewhere where I'm appreciated," Momo said.

Sachi laughed. "Good luck!"

Momo glared at Sachi before walking off.

Tezuka leaned to Sachi and whispered, "Why did you invite him?"

"You said as long as you're with me…just because he's there too doesn't mean you're suddenly not with me," Sachi whispered back.

"Is there something wrong, Kunimitsu?" Keigo asked.

Tezuka straightened up. "Nope. No problem here."

"Good. Then, shall we?"

"Anyone else want to come? Eiji?" Sachi asked.

"Uhh…" Eiji said, looking longingly at the other side of the pool where a girl was. "Do I have to?"

"No, just asking," Sachi said with a shrug. "Let's go then!"

Tezuka leaned to Sachi as they started walking. "So, you still think I'm safe?" he asked, pointing back at Kabaji.

"I'll fix it," Sachi whispered, turning around. "Kabaji. Kneel!"

"Usu," Kabaji replied, getting down on one knee.

"Fun!" Sachi exclaimed, jumping on his back. "Mush! Mush!"

"Usu."

Tezuka stared at Sachi and Kabaji in disbelief.

"Well now…it looks like you've found another use for my Kabaji," Keigo said with a laugh. "Ne, Kabaji?"

"Usu."

Sachi turned and grinned at Tezuka before the group made their way to the beach.

* * *

"Should I go for it? Maybe I should have Momo try first…then, when he fails I'll swoop in with my cuteness," Eiji said, looking at the girl.

"How are you so sure I'll fail!?" Momo asked, offended.

"Ï thought you were going somewhere where you were wanted…"

"I'm wanted here! Right Echizen?"

Ryoma looked at him. "I'd rather not answer that…" Ryoma said.

"Well, as your sempai, I'm demanding you answer that!"

Ryoma fixed his hat.

"Now, now Momo…no need to bully Ryoma…" Kyoko said.

"I'm not bullying, I just want him to say I'm wanted here!" Momo defended.

"…I can't do that," Ryoma said, smirking at him.

"We're best friends!" Momo said, pretending to cry.

"Chibi-chan is _my_ best friend," Eiji said, grabbing Ryoma in a bear hug.

Kyoko giggled. "Trading friends, huh, Ryoma?"

"Eiji-sempai…please…let me…go…"

"That's what you get for being mean to your TRUE best friend!" Momo exclaimed. "I would've never hugged you!"

"Hmm…" Ryoma considered as Eiji let go of him.

"I'm going to find someone that cares…" Momo said, marching off.

"Ten bucks says he's going straight to get more food," Eiji said.

"No one will bet against you, Eiji," Fuji pointed out.

"Curses," Eiji said, snapping his finger in defeat.

"Well, he always has Ann…wait, no he doesn't. Oishi has her now, huh?" Kyoko said.

"That's the rumor…" Ryoma said, smirking as Momo walked away.

"Why does Oishi get a girl?? I want one!" Eiji complained.

"They're not that great. I mean, look at Shusuke. He practically has a girlfriend, and look what has happened to him. No one wants that," Yuuta said, shaking his head sadly.

Eiji glanced at Fuji and paused to think about it.

Fuji looked over and smiled. "Did someone say my name?"

Eiji's eyes got bigger and he leaned in closer to Fuji's face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Fuji asked.

"Maybe Yuuta's right…" Eiji said, leaning back.

Fuji looked at Yuuta in confusion, but just got a smirk in return.

* * *

"Hey, Keigo, shouldn't you go back to your place, make sure no one's breaking anything? I mean…Momo's there, unsupervised. That's never a good thing," Sachi pointed out.

Keigo hesitated. "I think I can stay a little longer…they know I've got Kabaji, so they wouldn't try anything too drastic, ne, Kabaji?"

"Usu," Kabaji replied.

"Yeah, but Kabaji is here, with a little blonde person on his back, that's not very scary. Even Momo wouldn't be afraid of that, and he's scared of…well, everything…" Sachi said.

"Yeah...maybe I should get going back…Kabaji, come on," Keigo said grudgingly, turning to Kabaji.

Kabaji set Sachi back on her feet and followed Keigo to the house.

Sachi turned to Tezuka as the two left. "You owe me, Kun-Kun! You owe me big time!" she said, poking him in the chest. "Got it?"

Tezuka watched Keigo and Kabaji walk away, and turned to Sachi with a suspicious look on his face. "What do you want?"

Sachi grinned.

* * *

"So, it looks like Momo did go get food…" Kyoko said, pointing to Momo who was eating with Ann.

"How does he get to talk to her?" Eiji questioned.

"He follows her around?" Ryoma guessed.

"Poor Sachi," Eiji said.

"Why poor Sachi?" Ryoma asked.

"She thrives off people liking her! Now Momo likes her," he said, nodding to Ann.

"It's okay, Tezuka-sempai likes her again so it evens out," Ryoma pointed out.

Fuji jerked up. "What?!"

Kyoko giggled. "Ryoma's in the know."

"I knew it! That's why he was acting all funny!" Eiji exclaimed.

"…no he doesn't…" Fuji said.

"You mean you didn't notice? I bet they're off by themselves right now," Ryoma said.

Keigo and Kabaji walked by at that moment. "Well, once we make sure everything's okay, we should go back and join Tezuka and Sachi," Keigo said to Kabaji. "I was told they weren't dating, but…"

Eiji pointed at Keigo as the two walked into the next room. "Suspicion confirmed. If Atobe thinks Tezuka likes her, it must be true. I guess that's what he gets for sitting back and just being quiet, eh, Chibi-chan?" Eiji said, taking off Ryoma's hat and ruffling his hair and nodding toward Fuji. "And we've got the Ann, Momo, Oishi love triangle! This party is awesome!"

Ryoma glared at Eiji. "Why does everyone do that…?" he asked, taking his hat back and putting it on.

"Me? I don't know..." Fuji said.

"I guess you should do something about it…" Eiji said, nodding knowingly at Fuji.

Fuji looked at him. "You really think so?"

Eiji nodded again.

Fuji took a deep breath. "Okay…I think I will…"

"I wonder if any of them, the Ann, Momo, Oishi love triangle included, know about the gossip that's spreading…" Kyoko wondered out loud.

"We usually get stuck with the main gossiper," Ryoma said, pointing at Eiji. "So probably not…"

"Hey! I do not gossip!" Eiji said, leaning forward. "But I did hear that Kabaji has a girlfriend who lives in Tokyo!"

The rest of the group rolled their eyes.


	18. The Illegitimate Child of a Hippo

**_A/N: _**In this chapter, the group talks about a non-eating ice cream contest that happened between Momo and Sachi [[Rei]]. This was a reference from Chapter Thirteen in Saffy's 'Someone Worth Fighting For'. Tezuka ate his ice cream very slowly, in order to provoke Sachi [[Rei]], who made a bet with Momo about who could last longer without ice cream. Kyoko [[Ayaka]] teased Tezuka and her, saying they acted like an old married couple when they were bickering, and Sachi [[Rei]] denied it, and threw his ice cream in the street, saying she wouldn't want to marry him.

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Eighteen: The Illegitimate Child of a Hippo_**

"Do you accept these terms?" Sachi asked.

Tezuka sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"No, not really," Sachi said, grinning.

"Yeah, I accept…"

* * *

"I think we should go look for Sachi and Tezuka…" Fuji said.

"They'll come in here eventually, Fuji-sempai…" Ryoma pointed out.

"When she asked if anyone wanted to go, you should have said you wanted to," Yuuta said. "Smooth move."

Just then Sachi came running in, dragging Tezuka by his hand. "Guess what guys! Guess what! Guess what! Tezuka's my new--"

She was cut off by Fuji shoving Tezuka into the pool.

"Fuji! You just pushed my new bitch into the pool! I was going to make him go get me some food…" Sachi said sadly.

"I wonder how Sachi trapped him into being her…um…slave…" Kyoko said.

"Obviously he hasn't learned because Sachi's still able to outsmart him…" Ryoma said.

"Oh…" Fuji said, smiling at Tezuka who was glaring up at him from the pool. "Sorry about that Tezuka…"

Keigo walked over at that moment and shook Fuji's hand. "Thank you very much. Though next time I'd like to be the one who gets the revenge," he said, and then walked away.

Sachi sat next to Eiji and looked at Kyoko. "I saved him by getting Keigo and Kabaji to come back here, in fear that Momo was going to break everything. So he owed me," she said, then turned to the rest of the group. "So, which one of you freaked out Shusuke enough to get him to push Kun-Kun into the pool?"

Kyoko and Ryoma pointed to Eiji.

"Eh?? Since when is it my fault??" Eiji asked, offended.

"You did start the rumors…all of the rumors," Kyoko pointed out.

Ryoma nodded. "Eiji-sempai is starting rumors about everyone…"

"Oh fun," Sachi said, picking up Eiji and starting toward the door.

"Eh?? Fuji! Fuji help! Tezuka! Chibi-chan! Someone! …MOMO!" Eiji exclaimed as the doors shut behind them.

"Where do you think she took him…?" Kyoko asked.

Ryoma shrugged. "Hopefully somewhere far away…"

Momo looked over. "I swear I heard my name…" he said, then shrugged and continued talking to Ann.

Fuji smiled.

* * *

Sachi walked out to the dock and dropped Eiji into the ocean.

"Why not just the pool?!" Eiji asked.

"The pool is warm, this is cold salt water. Have fun!" Sachi said as she waved and walked off.

* * *

"Well, that was fun. Kun-Kun, what are you still doing in the pool?" Sachi asked as she walked back in.

She held out her hand to help him up, but Tezuka grabbed her hand and pulled her in. "I blame you for this," he said, then got out of the pool.

Fuji walked over and stood in front of Tezuka. "Go help her out of the pool right now."

Tezuka stared at him with an expressionless face. "No."

Eiji ran back in at that moment. "H-h-how c-c-could y-y-you?" he asked, looking around. "S-S-Sachi?"

"She got pushed into the pool, Eiji," Kyoko reported.

Eiji ran over and jumped into the pool. "W-warm…" he said, smiling.

Sachi was sitting at the bottom of the pool, holding her breath until Keigo jumped in and pulled her up.

"Thank you, I'm glad somebody cares," she said, glaring at Tezuka and Fuji. "Eiji, what the hell are you doing in there?"

"Ahh…all warm now…" Eiji said, then turned and glared at Sachi. "I was cold because SOMEONE dropped me into the freezing cold ocean!!"

"Oh, so that's what happened…" Kyoko said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry Sachi…" Fuji said.

"Well, you're not forgiven," Sachi said. "And Kun-Kun! You were supposed to save me, that's how it goes!"

"You never told me to come get you," Tezuka said.

"I didn't tell you to pull me into the pool, either!"

Tezuka shrugged. "Like you once said, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"Oh, I remember that! It was when you guys were having a non-eating ice cream contest…" Kyoko said, giggling.

Ryoma smirked. "Neither of them have grown up since then…"

"Yeah, but that was when I had to marry you, I didn't want that. And you weren't my bitch then AND it wasn't even my fault. It was Eiji's, which is why I threw him in the ocean," Sachi explained.

"No, it's your fault because if you didn't like Fuji or he didn't like you, it wouldn't have mattered what Eiji said and he wouldn't have gotten mad and wouldn't have shoved me in the water," Tezuka countered.

There was a momentary pause.

"Nothing's my fault! I'm perfect!" Eiji said, splashing around in the pool.

"Shut up, Eiji, I wouldn't have thrown you in the ocean if you were perfect," Sachi said, and then turned to Tezuka. "And fine, Kunimitsu, if me being around Fuji bothers you so much I just won't hang around with you when I'm with him. That way no problems can come up from this."

"I wasn't saying--"

"No, no, it's fine. I understand. You have some kind of issue with us, so I'm figuring out a way to resolve that. Come on Shusuke, let's go," she said, taking Fuji's hand and walking out.

As the two left, Eiji turned to the rest of the group. "I'm perfect, right??"

"Nice job, Tezuka," Ryoma said, rolling his eyes.

"Well…I hope they'll come back…" Kyoko said sadly.

Momo ran over. "Did I hear correctly!? So Sachi and Fuji won't hang out around Tezuka?? Tezuka, I'm going to follow you around all of the time so she won't come near me!" Momo exclaimed happily.

Tezuka balled up his fist and took a deep breath before knocking it against his forehead a few times. "Momo, I swear if you follow me around…"

Eiji got out of the pool, and walked over to a confused Ann and started talking to her.

"I don't care, I'm hanging out with you now!" Momo persisted.

"Um…Tezuka…" Kyoko said, grabbing Tezuka's arm to make him stop hitting himself. "You're going to give yourself a headache."

Tezuka pointed at Momo.

"A bigger headache than that even. I know, it's hard to believe…"

"Momo-sempai…" Ryoma said, looking at Eiji.

Momo followed Ryoma's gaze. "What the…be right back. Don't you go anywhere, Tezuka," he said, walking over to Eiji and Ann.

"I'm going somewhere," Tezuka said, walking into the house.

Oishi wandered over. "What's up with Tezuka? He looks even more…"

"Blah?" Ryoma suggested.

"Yeah. And why is Eiji so wet?"

"Well, Eiji went for a couple swims today …" Ryoma started, to which Oishi put up his hand to stop Ryoma.

"I don't want to hear the stories. I'll just pretend he dropped something in the pool, got it out, and that's the end of it," Oishi said.

"And now there's a new love triangle," Kyoko said, pointing at Eiji, Momo and Ann.

"Go get your woman, Oishi," Ryoma said, smirking at him.

"What? I don't have a 'woman' and that's a very derogatory way to think of females!" Oishi defended.

"I thought it was appropriate in this case," Kyoko said, laughing.

"According to Sachi, Ann is your girl," Ryoma said with a shrug.

Sadaharu suddenly appeared in their group. "Is Sachi here? I have the results of her question."

"Oh…hello Sadaharu. Um, Sachi went off with Fuji to get away from Tezuka…" Kyoko said.

"To get away from Tezuka?" Sadaharu inquired.

"Yes, apparently Tezuka has a problem when they are together , so…"

"But Tezuka is not here right now."

"He said he was going somewhere, then left," Ryoma said.

"I see," Sadaharu said, writing in his notebook. "Well, now I believe I have collected all the data on your question as well, Kyoko. It seems that--"

He was cut off by a random guy running by and grabbing Sadaharu's notebook. He ran over by the pool and threw it in.

"Oh…" Oishi said.

Sadaharu said nothing, but merely blinked and stared at his notebook as it was floating in the pool.

"What in the world…hey you!" Kyoko said, pointing to the guy, who stopped and turned to her."Why did you do that!?"

Kyoko walked over and pushed him into the pool, then walked back over to their group. The guy bobbed back up and glared at Kyoko. "Hey! It was a dare! Why'd you push me in!?" he exclaimed.

Kyoko turned and glared at him. "You just ruined our findings on a dare. Don't make me push you in again," she threatened. "Do you remember what your notes said, Sadaharu?"

"I didn't transfer the data into my new notebook…I can't prove my findings…they're…they're merely theories now…" Sadaharu said, staring blankly at the ground.

"But you don't need to prove them…we're all sure you did the work, we just need to know your conclusions…" Ryoma encouraged.

"Without proof, it's as if it never happened. I could say anything and it could be completely false…" Sadaharu continued.

"I think he's in shock," Oishi said. "Come on, just sit down…"

Kyoko walked over to the pool and grabbed out the notebook. "I can try to fix it if you want, Sadaharu…" she offered, turning to him.

"I have no data…the data…I can't get it back…"

"It's too late for him…" Ryoma said.

"It's never too late!" Kyoko said, starting to dry the notebook.

Eiji walked over."Oishi, hey!"

"Get shut down, Eiji-sempai?" Ryoma asked, smirking.

"What are you talking about? That's not why I went over there," Eiji said laughing. "Hey, what's wrong with Inui?"

Sadaharu looked up at Eiji with a blank face. "I have…no…data…"

"Eh?? What happened??"

"Some kid threw his notebook into the pool…and he was about to tell us whether Tezuka liked Sachi or not…" Ryoma explained.

"Yeah, he does, but sometimes he likes to wear a cocktail dress and go dancing," Eiji said.

"See, I could make claims like that…just random…claims…" Sadaharu said.

"That's nothing compared to what Kaidoh does in his spare time, hoooy!" Eiji said.

Kaidoh looked over at their group from a table across the room. "I heard my name…actually, no. I'm not going to get involved…" he said, walking outside.

"Hey!! Those are not random claims!" Eiji said offended.

"Where's your evidence then?" Sadaharu asked.

"I was a witness to it! That's all you need to know…"

"Tezuka-sempai actually lets you see him dress up in a cocktail dress?" Ryoma inquired with a look of disbelief.

"Well…no, but it's true!"

"Eiji, I dare you to go one day without gossiping," Oishi challenged.

"I don't gossip, that's for the ladies."

"Then what do you call what you're doing?" Kyoko persisted.

Eiji paused. "Telling you…stories," Eiji said, nodding.

"Even though they're untrue?" Ryoma asked.

"Hey, you don't know that they're untrue!"

"We can kind of guess…" Kyoko pointed out, then handed Sadaharu his notebook. "Okay, well, I got most of it fixed. It's dry at least."

Sadaharu flipped through it. "I can't…it's smudged…"

"Just try and read it," Oishi suggested.

"I…I don't think I can…"

"Come on man! You can do it!" Eiji said, shaking Sadaharu.

"I think you're going to break him…" Ryoma said.

"Oh…" Eiji said as he stopped shaking him. "Just try…"

Sadaharu looked at the words. "I think that says 'the'."

"I bet I could read it much better!" Eiji declared.

"Then try," Oishi said.

Eiji took the notebook and started reading. "'The…hippo…blue…color…yes? Green…stolen.' The end!"

Kyoko clapped and laughed. "The climax was my favorite part."

"I don't think that's what I wrote…" Sadaharu said.

"Obviously not, your notes would've made sense…" Ryoma said.

"Are you saying my story didn't??" Eiji asked, glaring at Ryoma.

"Eiji, you said there was a hippo in it…" Oishi pointed out.

Eiji handed Oishi the notebook. "Look!"

"It does look like it says hippo, but that can't be right," Oishi said.

"I never said it was right, I just read it! Okay, Inui, you have to clarify, does hippo mean Momo? Because if it turns out he's the illegitimate child of a hippo, then my suspicions will be confirmed," Eiji asked hopefully.

"Don't tell me you've thought about this before, Eiji…" Kyoko said.

"Hey, after hanging out with them for so long, you'd be getting suspicious, too!" Eiji defended.

"I think it's just Eiji-sempai…" Ryoma said.

"I…don't recall writing the word hippo…" Sadaharu said.

"You didn't, Sadaharu, they just saw a word that looks like it," Kyoko assured him.

"What else could it possibly be!?" Eiji asked.

Oishi showed Sadaharu the notebook. "See, it kind of looks like hippo…"

"Happy. It was happy with a question mark. I was trying to see if Tezuka was content with the way things ended with Sachi," Sadaharu clarified.

"He means Momo, the illegitimate hippo child."

"There was no hippos involved in the writing of this journal, Eiji…" Kyoko said.

"Or so you say," Eiji said.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "And did you find out if he was, Inui-sempai?"

"I can't tell…" Sadaharu said, trying to read the rest of the note. "It's no use, it might as well say Momoshiro is the illegitimate child of a hippo.

"Inui said it! It's true! I'm going to go tell Ann! Hey! Ann!" Eiji said, skipping over to Ann and Momo.

Ryoma and Kyoko shook their heads in disbelief as Eiji left.


	19. Proof

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Nineteen: Proof_**

"I think you gave up too easily, Sadaharu…" Oishi said.

Sadaharu shrugged. "I can't do anything about it…" he said with a sigh.

"Oh, hey Eiji," Ann said as Eiji joined her and Momo. "What's up?"

"Momo's been hiding a big secret from you," Eiji said, turning to Momo. "Sadaharu found out that you're the illegitimate child of a hippo, Momo. Your secret is out! He just said it himself, out loud! I knew it!!"

"What?! You're crazy, Eiji-sempai!" Momo exclaimed. "You've met my parents!!"

"Go have a chat with Sadaharu, the guy who _always_ has his facts straight, if you're not happy with his conclusion," Eiji said, nodding in satisfaction.

Momo turned and glared at Sadaharu.

"Hmm…there's a one hundred percent chance that Momo's upset with me…" Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses.

"Come on, Sadaharu, I'm sure you can figure out what you wrote," Oishi encouraged.

"I will continue to try."

"That's all I ask."

"Yeah, I've met your 'parents' but only one of them is your REAL parent, the other is a hippo!" Eiji shouted.

"Neither of my parents is attracted to hippos!" Momo shouted back.

"Then how were you created?!"

"…you know how babies are created, Eiji-sempai!"

"…this conversation just got very awkward…" Kyoko said.

"Eiji, remember to think before you shout things," Oishi reminded him.

"Well, then you were created very awkwardly!" Eiji exclaimed, ignoring Oishi.

"I'm not part hippo!"

"Sure you are! All hippos do is eat and sleep; that's all you do!"

"I'm very active!"

"For a hippo, sure."

"I play tennis, too, Eiji! Very well, in fact!"

"Where did this come from, Eiji?" Ann asked.

Eiji pointed at Sadaharu, who was working on reading his notebook.

"Oh…"

"Inui-sempai…" Momo said through gritted teeth.

"I was reading his notebook and it talked about a hippo, and then I put it together, and when I asked, Sadaharu said it," Eiji explained. "We should go to the zoo and look for your other parent tomorrow, Momo!"

"Oh, the zoo? That sounds like fun…wait, I don't have a parent there!! And how you put it together is absurd!" Momo said.

"Or is it??"

"Yes it is!"

"Nope. Oishi, didn't Sadaharu say his notebook, 'says Momoshiro is the illegitimate child of a hippo'," Eiji asked, doing quotes with his fingers.

"Yes, but--"

"SEE! YOU ARE A HIPPO CHILD!"

"I'M NOT A HIPPO! I'M AN APE! I mean…PERSON!"

"This is what happens when someone gives boys an inch…they take a mile," Kyoko said, shaking her head.

"And turn it into a story about a half hippo, half human baby named Momo…" Ryoma finished.

"Sadaharu! Tell them to stop! Tell them you were just kidding!" Momo pleaded.

"I do not kid. What I said was completely true," Sadaharu said, then went back to reading.

"What he means is--" Oishi started.

"HAH!" Eiji exclaimed, cutting of Oishi again.

"NOO! Inui-sempai! How could you betray me like that??" Momo exclaimed, but Sadaharu was too busy reading to make a response.

"Well, we should probably go bring him back to the zoo, huh? His mom or dad hippo is probably missing him," Ryoma said, smirking at Momo.

"You know I'm not a hippo, Ryoma! Right, Kyoko? I'm not a hippo…"

"Ah!" Sadaharu said, pulling out a pen and started scribbling furiously on a new page.

"If I disagree with Momo, do we get to go to the zoo tomorrow?" Kyoko asked.

"Probably," Ryoma said.

Kyoko nodded and looked at Momo. "I don't know, Momo…it's looking pretty iffy…"

"What?!" Momo exclaimed.

"I think Inui's making some progress," Oishi noticed.

"Hah!" Sadaharu said, jumping up and walking into the house.

"Eh? Inui! Get back here!" Oishi said.

"No way is he leaving with my hippo results!" Momo said, chasing after Sadaharu.

"Oh, me, too! Me, too!" Eiji said, running after the others.

"I think I missed something…" Ann said.

"I wonder what he found out…" Kyoko said.

"We should catch up…" Ryoma said.

"Okay! Let's go!" Kyoko said, taking Ryoma's hand and running after the group.

* * *

Oishi saw Sadaharu talking to Tezuka and slowed down. "Uh, Inui, you have something to tell us?"

"No, I do not. I would like to continue speaking with Tezuka, if you don't mind?" Sadaharu said.

"There you are! I am not a hippo! Tell Eiji I'm not an illegitimate hippo child!" Momo said.

"I never said you were. I said without proof anything I said on other topics would be as idiotic as that. Eiji just heard what he wanted to hear."

"But he still said it!" Eiji said, poking Momo in the side.

Momo turned and glared at him.

"We should leave them alone, guys…" Oishi said, ushering the group into another room. "Okay, now you all stay put until they're done talking…wait, where are Sachi and Fuji?"

"Oh, I thought something seemed off. They've been gone for a while…" Kyoko said, looking around.

"Ooh, I think I know," Eiji said with a wink.

"Eiji-sempai…don't do that," Ryoma said.

"Who really cares where they are…" Momo said.

"We do, of course. I wonder if there are any other events that Keigo has planned for today…we haven't seen him around lately, either…" Kyoko noticed.

"You care, Momo. You may like Ann on the side, but we all know your true passion is for the blondes, you and your hippo-ish ways…" Eiji said, then suddenly turned serious and gave Momo a hard look. "Don't touch my sister."

"One, she's not your sister, and two, I don't like her," Momo said. "I'm going back outside."

"Where outside?" Oishi inquired.

"Nowhere near Tezuka-sempai or Inui-sempai, okay, Oishi-sempai?" Momo said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay…just to be safe, Momo…" Oishi said.

"Thanks mom," he said before walking out.

"We all know you do! You little hippo child!" Eiji called out after him.

"Why a hippo?" Ryoma asked.

"It's what that word looked like, and hippos are ugly so that would bother him. And also because him being an ape was getting old; he's already come to terms with that one. You heard him yelling that he was an ape," Eiji explained, then looked around. "Well, now what should we do? …I wanna go play on that playground!"

"That's three miles away, Eiji…we're not walking that far again," Oishi said.

"Of course we're not walking that far again! Duh! …we'd run!" Eiji exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"You'd have to run that alone, Eiji...by the time you got there, you'd be too tired to play..." Kyoko said.

"Would not! You can never be too tired to play!" Eiji said with a smile.

"Coming from Eiji-sempai, I can actually believe it…" Ryoma said.

"We never did find Sachi and Fuji, you know…should we go look for them?" Oishi asked.

"I wonder what they're up to…" Eiji said, then paused. "No wait, I don't want to know!"

He held his head in his hands as he shook his head.

Oishi gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "I'm sure you're over thinking it. This'll give us something to do, let's just go."

"Okay! Where should we start?" Eiji asked.

"The beach?" Ryoma suggested.

"Haven't they already been there?" Oishi said.

"Where else can you go in this place? I'm sure Keigo knows…maybe if we find him?" Kyoko said.

"This place is too big; no one should be able to afford two giant houses…" Oishi said.

"I just noticed this party isn't under adult supervision…" Eiji said.

"With this many people? Probably not a good idea…" Kyoko said in a worried tone.

"He does have Kabaji, though…" Ryoma pointed out.

"Oh, that's right! That big scary guy that helped me up!" Eiji remembered.

"Oh well, let's just walk around, maybe we'll run into someone at some point…" Oishi suggested.

"Or we can try and find Atobe's room and get black mail!" Eiji said with a cunning smile.

"I'm pretty sure we'll get arrested if that happens, Eiji…" Oishi said.

Eiji snapped his finger in defeat. "Darn, he'd probably have the best lawyers, too…"

"Okay, let's try upstairs first," Kyoko said, pointing to the stairs on the other side of the room.

"Alright," Oishi agreed, leading the group to them.


	20. Manly Journals and Secrets

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty: Manly Journals and Secrets_**

When the group walked upstairs, they saw Keigo, who was sitting in a chair, surrounded by a bunch of girls. He turned and saw the group.

"Ah, finally ventured into the house I see? Welcome," he greeted them.

"Yeah, we're looking for Sachi and Fuji, have you seen them?" Kyoko asked.

"Who? Oh, no…I've been too busy," he replied, smiling at the girls, who started giggling.

"He can't even play tennis that well; I don't see their attraction to him…" Ryoma muttered when they walked past.

"It's the money, obviously…" Kyoko said. "If he had your talent, it would make more sense for them to be swooning over him."

She smiled at Ryoma, who shyly smiled back.

"He claims it's his good looks! You've seen him show off…" Eiji said.

"I don't think it's only money," Oishi said. "Sachi likes him, too, just not in that sort of way."

"Yeah, but that's Sachi," Ryoma pointed out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eiji asked, challenging his gaze.

Ryoma fixed his hat and said nothing.

"Maybe she just likes how he looks?" Kyoko guessed, shrugging. "I can't see the appeal, but everyone has their own taste…"

"We know what kind of taste you have, Kyoko," Eiji said, putting his arm around Ryoma and winking at her.

"…I don't know what you're talking about, Eiji," Kyoko said, glaring at him.

Eiji's smile broadened, but he did his best to cover it up when Ryoma glanced curiously at him. "Sure, sure…anyway, I just don't like Keigo showing off all the time…he already has enough girls! He should let some come to us!" he said, pouting.

"You wouldn't want girls like that, Eiji," Oishi warned.

"I like him because he's fantastically arrogant," a voice behind them said.

The group turned and saw Sachi and Fuji.

"Sachi! We found you!" Eiji exclaimed, giving her a hug.

"I think it's the other way around…" Sachi pointed out, but shrugged it off. "Have you been looking for us?"

"Yeah, we wondered where you two went off to, so we decided to come find you," Oishi explained.

"Where have you been?? You missed it! Momo's part hippo!" Eiji said.

"No way, part hippo?? That's fantastic! Here I was thinking he was just an ape," Sachi said with a smile.

"We've been avoiding Tezuka; any room he comes in we have to leave. We got cornered and stuck in one of the bedrooms," Fuji started, to which Eiji opened his mouth. "No, Eiji, nothing like that."

"Last time we saw Tezuka, he was outside with Sadaharu. This is after he had his notebook thrown into the pool by some guy…" Kyoko recalled.

"So Kyoko pushed him into the pool, too," Ryoma said, smiling approvingly at her.

"Momo started thinking that he was an ape, too, so we decided to switch things up, going on Sadaharu's data, of course!" Eiji said.

"Sadaharu's data says that he's a hippo?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah!" Eiji confirmed.

"No, it just looked like it said hippo. Eiji drew his own conclusions," Oishi explained.

"Oh, sounds like you, Eiji. Have you seen my brother? I'm thinking about going home soon and he's staying with us until the tournament is over," Fuji said.

"Nope, we haven't seen him in a while, actually…" Kyoko thought back. "I'm sure he's somewhere downstairs."

"Okay, well I'm going to find him and take off. I'll most likely see you all tomorrow?"

"We're going to the zoo to find Momo's other parent!" Eiji told him.

"Oh, if we go to the zoo can we make Kun-Kun wear a funny animal shaped hat?" Sachi asked.

"Of course! It wouldn't be the zoo without Tezuka in a funny animal shaped hat," Kyoko agreed.

"I can only guess how much fun Tezuka's going to have when he finds out…" Ryoma said with a smirk.

The group made their way downstairs where Yuuta walked up to them.

"Hey, Shusuke, what's up?" Yuuta said.

"Not much, ready to go home?" Fuji asked.

"Uh, yeah, that's actually why I was looking for you. Oh, and Sachi, Sadaharu says he wants to talk to you?"

"Oh boy, he has my results! I'll see you tomorrow, Shusuke, bring Yuuta," she said before bolting down another set of stairs.

"Where are we going?" Yuuta asked.

"We're going to the zoo," Fuji said and smiled.

"Oh? What for?"

"To find Momo's long lost hippo parent!" Eiji exclaimed.

Momo looked over from across the room from the table him and Ann were sharing. "We're going to the zoo tomorrow? Sweet!"

"I thought you were outside?" Oishi asked.

"I came back in," Momo said.

"Hippo parent?" Yuuta asked. "What, is he like the illegitimate child of a hippo?"

"Exactly!" Eiji said.

"Whoa, that was an oddly correct guess, Yuuta…" Kyoko noticed.

Yuuta shrugged and smiled. "Some of us are just born smart."

"Like Fuji! He's a tensai, after all," Eiji said, nodding knowingly.

Yuuta glared at Fuji.

"You know, Yuuta's a Fuji as well, so really he's just as smart, maybe more so," Fuji said with a smile. "Well, we should be going. Do you have your cell so you can call sis?"

"Yeah, yeah…you always forget your phone, don't you?" Yuuta said, continuing to grumble to Fuji as they left.

Kyoko looked out the window. "It looks like other people are leaving, too…I think it's weird Keigo didn't even make any announcements or give anyone rides home in his limos…"

Ryoma shrugged. "He's rich, not necessarily a good party planner…"

"Really he didn't plan this, Sachi did. He just went along with it," Oishi said. "I wonder what they're up to…"

* * *

Outside Sadaharu, Tezuka and Sachi were all sitting down, facing each other.

"This conversation will be kept so secret, I won't even write it down," Sadaharu said, setting his notebook and pen down.

Sachi turned warily to Tezuka. "What the hell is this about?!"

* * *

"I never did get to play on that playground…" Eiji said, pouting.

"I wonder what Sadaharu, Tezuka and Sachi are up to…" Ryoma said.

"No good, obviously," Momo said.

"Don't jump to conclusions just because Sachi's involved," Oishi said.

"They're probably talking about my hippo parent…that I don't have!"

Sachi walked up at that moment. "Come on Eiji, we're going home," she said, grabbing his wrist and leading him out of the house.

"Yeah, I should go, too…" Kyoko said.

"Me, too…well, we'll see you tomorrow, Momo…" Ryoma started inching toward the door. "And your parent."

Momo lunged forward to grab Ryoma's collar but Kyoko grabbed Ryoma's hand and pulled him outside, shutting the door behind them.

"NOOO!! It's not my parent!" Momo exclaimed, pounding the door with both of his fists.

* * *

"So, what'd you guys talk about?" Eiji asked Sachi as the two were making their way to Eiji's house.

"Nothing," Sachi replied simply.

"I'll just look in Sadaharu's notebook, then!"

"No you won't. He didn't write it down."

Eiji tripped and stared up at Sachi with huge eyes. "What?! He didn't write something down?!"

* * *

"What did you and Inui and Sachi talk about?" Oishi asked Tezuka.

"Nothing," Tezuka replied.

"Really?"

"Nope."

"But if I don't find out why, Eiji's going to make up a rumor about me…"

"That's tough…"

"T-Tezuka!"

Tezuka shrugged. "I've got to go home now, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow for the zoo trip," he said, walking off.

"But…hey…Tezuka!" Oishi said, then sighed. "I guess I'd better get a ride home, too…"

* * *

"What do you think Eiji and Sachi are up to right now?" Yuuta asked Fuji.

"Sachi's most likely sleeping and Eiji's still awake, playing with his cat or something. He doesn't need much sleep," Fuji replied.

"You sure it's nothing…bad? I mean, they have sleepovers a lot…Sachi practically has a second house at Eiji's house…"

"I think everyone has tried to convince me of that; I don't need you to do it, too, Yuuta. Goodnight now."

Yuuta sighed. "Whatever…" he said, then walked into his own room.

* * *

"Mom, I'm going to the zoo tomorrow," Momo informed his mother when he arrived home.

"Take your sister and brother," Momo's mother said.

"But moooom! I'm going with my friends!" Momo protested.

His mother rolled her eyes. "Fine…you're such a little girl, Momo…"

Momo glared at her and then ran up to his room.

* * *

"And then after Momo ran up to his room, he reached under his bed and pulled out a journal, because journals are more manly than diaries, and started to write: 'No one understands me. My mom is so stupid. Today she tried to get me to take my annoying little sister and brother to the zoo with me! Ugh! Why doesn't she just let me live my life! She's almost as bad as Sachi. I hate Sachi!! I saw Ann today…'" Eiji started his story, to which Sachi threw a pillow at him. "Oh wait! My story's not over! He shoved his journal under his bed, and said 'There, now I can sleep well…wait!' he said, then pulled his journal back out. He wrote 'I-Hate-Sachi', then said 'There, _now_ I can sleep well!' and then went back to bed. The End!"

"Yes, Eiji, I know he hates me…but that'd be sad if he actually had a journal like that," Sachi said with a laugh. "Oh, hey…I have a request of you, but you have to be really sneaky about it."

* * *

"At least you didn't get hurt," Kyoko said, smiling as her and Ryoma were walking home.

"That hippo couldn't do anything," Ryoma countered, smirking back.

Kyoko nodded in agreement. "I guess so."

"Hey, Kyoko…" Ryoma started.

"Yes?"

"Um…do you want to come with me…to get my racquets restrung? I have to get them done before school starts next week…"

"Oh, sure, when?"

"…does now work? The place is still open for another two hours."

"Oh, sure. My parents are out of town, anyway, so they won't be worrying about me staying out too late," Kyoko said, smiling.

"Okay…thanks…" Ryoma said quietly.

They walked into Ryoma's house so he could get his racquets, and Kyoko waited by the door. Karupin, Ryoma's cat, walked over and meowed at Kyoko.

"Oh, hello kitty…" Kyoko said, bending down and petting Karupin.

"That's Karupin. Don't worry, he won't bite," Ryoma said. "I'll be right back; I have to get my racquets."

"Alright, no problem."

Ryoma walked upstairs and Kyoko went back to petting Karupin.

"Hey, Ryoma? Is that you finally home?" a voice said from another room.

A tan man wearing a black robe walked in at that moment, and looked curiously at Kyoko.

"Eh? What do we have here?" he said, walking over to her. "A girl? Are you a friend of Ryoma's?"

"Um…yes…hello…I'm sorry for intruding…" Kyoko said, standing up straight and bowing to him.

"Hmm…no intrusion at all…" he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "And what might this pretty, young girl be doing here at this hour?"

"Oh, stop harassing the poor girl," a girl with long black hair said as she stepped into the room.

The man turned and looked at her. "I'm not harassing her…" he said offended.

"She's going over to get my racquets restrung with me," Ryoma said, walking down the stairs, glaring at him.

"Oh, is that all?" he said with a laugh.

Ryoma continued to glare at him.

"I'm…very sorry for bothering you…" Kyoko said quietly.

"Oh, you're no bother at all. Uncle is just being rude," the girl said. "I'm Nanako, Ryoma's cousin, by the way. The rude man here is Nanjiro, Ryoma's father. It's very nice to meet you…?"

"Kyoko," Kyoko said, smiling and bowing again at them.

"Well, go along now you kids," Nanjiro said, pushing Ryoma into Kyoko, almost knocking her over. "Take your time!"

Ryoma gave him one last glare before leading Kyoko out the door.

The two began walking over to the tennis store just a few blocks away. The sun was barely showing over the hills in the distance and Kyoko shivered as a cool breeze whipped past them.

Ryoma took off his Seigaku jacket and wordlessly handed it to Kyoko. She smiled gratefully at him, but wasn't sure if he saw, and put it on; it was a lot warmer than it looked and Kyoko was thankful for that.

"So…did you like the beach?" Kyoko asked, trying to keep her voice as casual as possible against the butterflies in her stomach.

"It was fun," Ryoma replied. "A little…odd…but that's our group, I guess."

Kyoko laughed and nodded in agreement. "That definitely is our group. I'm sure the zoo tomorrow will be much more fun."

"Maybe not for Momo-sempai…" Ryoma pointed out, smirking.

"Oh, yeah…he'll get to see one of his parents, though, so he should be happy."

"I just hope he doesn't take all of this seriously…after all the teasing, he might start thinking one of the hippos is really his parent…"

"I'm sure Eiji and Sachi will come up with another animal for him to be before that happens," Kyoko assured him, laughing again.

"Those two have such imaginations…"

"It keeps things interesting in our group, though."

"I guess that's one way to put it," Ryoma said, smirking.

When they reached the tennis store, they walked in and the clerk greeted them warmly.

"Ah, hello there Mr. Echizen! I haven't seen you here in about a month! I see you've come back to string your racquets!" he said, and then noticed Kyoko standing shyly behind him. "And you've brought a…friend? How unexpected!"

Kyoko wasn't sure if she liked the look the clerk was giving her; it was too suspicious to make her comfortable.

"Yeah…well, here's my racquets…" Ryoma said, handing him his racquets.

"Ah, right!" the clerk said, turning his attention back to Ryoma. "I should have them done by tomorrow!"

"Okay, thank you," Ryoma said before bowing and opening the door for Kyoko.

The two walked out into the cool air again and Kyoko clutched Ryoma's jacket a little tighter to keep herself warm.

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" Ryoma asked, looking around. "I'm sure it'd be much more fun eating with someone else than eating at home alone."

"Huh? Oh…it would be…thank you very much…" Kyoko said, blushing a little.

"Alright, let's go," he said, leading her down to another place where the many stores lit up the streets.

Kyoko looked around, taking in everything. "Wow…" she said. "I've never been out here during this time. It's really pretty…"

Ryoma smirked and led her to a ramen stand, where he ordered for both of them.

"Oh…thank you very much Ryoma…" Kyoko said as she got her ramen.

"You don't need to be so formal with me, you know…" Ryoma said, slurping up some of his noodles.

Kyoko blushed a little, and tried to hide it by eating some of her own ramen. She thought she heard Ryoma laugh a little, and turned to see him hiding his own smile. She teasingly glared at him.

After finishing their ramen and a bit of talking, the two decided it was time to go home. Ryoma walked Kyoko up to her doorstep as Kyoko took off Ryoma's jacket and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Ryoma-kun, for dinner and letting me borrow your jacket," she said, smiling at him. "I had a lot of fun."

"Same here…" Ryoma said, smiling shyly at her as he took his jacket back. "Thank you for coming with me."

"No problem, I enjoyed myself."

"Alright, well have a good night," Ryoma said.

"You, too," Kyoko said, smiling at him.

Just as she was turning toward her front door, he stepped forward and lightly hugged her. Startled, Kyoko froze and stared at him.

"…sorry…" Ryoma said quickly, then turned to leave.

Kyoko grabbed his arm and hugged him; this time he didn't move out of surprise.

"Don't be sorry, silly," she said in a comforting tone.

Ryoma smiled and hugged her back. When the two let go, their faces were bright red.

"Well…goodnight…" Ryoma said.

"Goodnight," Kyoko said, waving as he started walking toward his own house.

As Kyoko got inside her house, she ran upstairs to her room, and jumped on her bed, hiding her still-red face in her pillow.


	21. Morning Preparations

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty One: Morning Preparations_**

The next day, Kyoko woke up earlier than she meant to. Her stomach still had butterflies from the night before, and after tossing and turning for about ten more minutes, she decided to get up and get ready.

As she was getting ready, she took everything slow so she wouldn't be too early.

When she was finished, she was still twenty minutes ahead of schedule, so she decided to go see if Ryoma was awake.

As she walked outside with her things, and locked up her house, she felt the sun's rays warm her face, and she smiled as she leisurely walked to Ryoma's house.

She arrived and rung the doorbell, to which Ryoma's dad, Nanjiro, answered.

"Ah, back again Kyoko?" he said, smiling at her. "Feel free to wake Ryoma up. I've already tried; I swear that boy sleeps through everything."

He opened the door for her and she took off her shoes and stepped inside.

"Meooow," Karupin greeted Kyoko.

"Oh, good morning, Karupin," Kyoko said picking him up and petting him.

"Ryoma's room is upstairs. His door is wide open, so you'll find him no problem," Nanjiro said before walking into another room.

"Alright, thank you. I'll do my best," Kyoko called to him before walking upstairs.

She found his room almost immediately and walked in.

"Meooow," Karupin said again, staring at Ryoma.

Kyoko smiled at Karupin and set him on Ryoma's bed. Karupin jumped on Ryoma and started meowing again.

Ryoma moved a little, and then noticed Karupin was lying on him. "…huh? Oh, Karupin…" he said, petting him.

Suddenly, he realized Kyoko standing there. "…Kyoko?" he said in a surprised tone.

"Good morning," Kyoko said, smiling. "Your dad told me to wake you up, and Karupin wanted to help."

Ryoma smiled and rubbed his eyes. "Is it almost time to go?"

"You have about twenty minutes, don't worry," Kyoko assured him.

"It won't take me that long, so wait downstairs for me, okay?" Ryoma said.

"You sure your parents don't mind?"

"Not at all."

Kyoko looked warily at him and searched his face for any uncertainties, but, when she found none, she nodded and smiled at him. "Alright, Karupin and I will go down and wait for you," she said, picking up Karupin again and walking out.

* * *

Ryoma walked downstairs a few minutes later, all ready to go. He found Kyoko in the dining room with his family, while his mother was making breakfast.

"Oh, you finally decide to show your face down here?" Nanjiro asked, giving Ryoma a teasing glance.

Ryoma glared back and took a chair next to Kyoko.

When the two finished their breakfast, they excused themselves to go to the zoo.

"Thank you very much for breakfast," Kyoko said, bowing to Ryoma's mother.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Thank you for coming over," she replied, smiling at her.

Kyoko smiled back and walked toward the front door.

"She's cute," Ryoma's mother whispered to Ryoma just as he was leaving.

Ryoma just stared at her, then followed Kyoko out the front door.

* * *

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Eiji exclaimed.

Sachi opened the bathroom door and peaked out. "No, I'm busy," she said before slamming the door.

"UUUUUGH! I bet Fuji's ready!"

"Well, then call him and complain to him. You're just making this take longer," Sachi said from inside the bathroom.

"I will call him and complain to him!" Eiji said as he stormed into his room.

"Hello?" Fuji said as he answered his phone.

"Oh my gosh! Sachi's taking forever!!" Eiji whined.

"…Eiji?"

"I understand that girls take so long to get ready in the morning, but come oooooon!! She's taking sooo long!"

"How long has she been taking?"

"It's been like five million hours!"

"Are you sure you're not over exaggerating it just a little?"

"…fine, an hour, but when she comes out she doesn't look any different than when she went in there! I want to goooooo!! Do you think I should smoke her out?"

"I think that would be a very bad idea. Just find something else to do. Make lunches?"

"Nya, my mom already made some…"

"Well, Momo might eat your lunch, so you should go pack another one…?"

"You don't think I already thought about that! I'm bringing extra snacks secretly!"

"Then just do jumping jacks or something?"

Eiji started jumping up and down. "It's…not…doing…anything…"

"Well, what do you want?"

Eiji stopped jumping. "To smoke her out!"

"Besides that."

"Just come over here and tell her she's pretty as is so we can go!"

"By the time I get there she'll already be out…"

"You don't know how long she takes. I swear, every morning, and days that we're going out in public, even worse!"

"Eiji, just close your eyes, count to one hundred, and I'm sure she'll be done by then."

Eiji closed his eyes. "One…two…three…four…five…I can't take it, Fuji!"

Fuji sighed. "I'll just head on over to your house so we can meet everyone at school. See you in a few, Eiji," Fuji said, then hung up.

Eiji closed his phone and ran back outside the bathroom door. "SACHI! Hurry up!!"

"Why?" Sachi said.

"Fuji's coming!"

"WHAT?! Eiji, how could you do that to me?! Make him go away!"

"Sachi, are you…crying?"

"I'm stressed! I'm not done getting pretty yet, how could you?!"

"YOU'RE LOCKED UP IN A BATHROOM! HE CAN'T SEE YOU!"

* * *

"Okay, I'm heading to school to meet everyone," Tezuka informed his mother as he grabbed his bag.

"Okay, have fun dear!" she said waving at him.

"Fun? I'll try…" he said before walking out.

* * *

"According to my data…" Sadaharu said, looking at his notebook. "Tezuka will leave within the next five minutes, Eiji has been ready to go, Fuji is on his way to Eiji's house, Kyoko is waiting at Ryoma's house for him to get ready, and…Sachi's still in the bathroom, getting ready… "

Sadaharu shook his head sadly and went back to putting a few things in his bag.

* * *

"Just calm down!" Eiji exclaimed.

Sachi opened the bathroom door and threw a case of eye shadow at him.

"Ow!" Eiji said, rubbing his forehead. "Arg, Sachi! It exploded, now there's blue all over me!"

"Suck it up, jerk!" Sachi said, slamming the door again.

Eiji wiped his face and looked at his hands. "No! I'm wearing makeup! I've got to go wash this off!" he said, rushing into the kitchen and turning on the sink.

* * *

"Okay…" Oishi said, checking his bag one last time. "I think I've got everything…I hope everyone else is excited."

He nodded and smiled, then started toward school.

* * *

"Uh, Eiji, what happened?" Eiji's mother asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Sachi threw blue at me," he said, then continued washing off his face. "I don't want makeup!"

"Were you annoying her when she was in the bathroom again?"

Eiji looked up at her. "Maybe…" he said, then went back to washing his face.

"All ready!" Sachi announced as she joined them in the kitchen.

"Oh no, don't act all nice now! You were just all RAWR!"

"Don't be rude, Eiji. I'm never 'RAWR'."

"Yes you are! Why do think I have blue all over me?!"

"Eiji, quit being mean to Sachi," Eiji's mother said walking out.

"Why do I always get blamed??" Eiji said, washing off the last of the blue on his face.

"Because your mom gets it. It's a girl thing, and boys shouldn't be mean to us when we're getting ready. Plus, you take forever to brush your teeth. Two minutes is what the dentists say, but you take like eight! And don't even get me started on the 'pea sized' toothpaste bits," Sachi said.

"Brushing your teeth is way different than putting on makeup."

"And doing my hair," Sachi amended.

"Too much stuff!"

"Okay, you two, go on…you don't want to be late for the zoo…" Eiji's mother said from the other room.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"FUJI'S HERE!" Eiji exclaimed and ran to answer the door.

Fuji waved and smiled at him and Sachi. "Good morning. Oh, good morning to you, too, Mrs. Eiji."

Eiji mother smiled and waved. "Good morning Shusuke," she replied before walking upstairs.

"Zoo! Zoo! Zoo!" Eiji said, jumping up and down.

"Calm down, Eiji. Bye Mrs. Kikumaru! Come on hyperactive one," Sachi said, grabbing Eiji's wrist and dragging him out with her. "Hi Shusuke. Where's your little brother? I told you to bring him, didn't I?"

"I didn't need the little Fuji to get you out of the bathroom, I needed this one!" Eiji exclaimed.

Fuji smiled. "He got up late this morning, so he should be here any minute…"

Yuuta ran up to them at that moment. "Sorry…I was getting ready…"

"Oh, hello Yuuta. Nice of you to join us," Fuji said, smiling at him.

"Yeah…so are we meeting everyone at school?" Yuuta asked.

"That sounds stupid, why not just the zoo?" Sachi asked.

"The zoo has three entrances…" Fuji explained.

"So tell everyone but Momo to meet at the south entrance. That's always the best one," Sachi said, nodding knowingly.

"We already told everyone to meet at the school, though…and I'm sure there are already some people there waiting for us…"

"Maybe Momo!" Eiji said.

"Unless he slept in," Yuuta pointed out.

"So there'd be two of you that did," Fuji said smiling at him.

Yuuta glared at Fuji.

"Aww, Yuuta, are you sleepy? I can get you coffee. I want coffee, too. We'll meet you all at school," Sachi said, dragging Yuuta to a nearby coffee place.

Eiji and Fuji watched Sachi and Yuuta go, then Eiji turned to Fuji. "You planning anything yet?"

"Almost…it's getting harder to find the right time…" Fuji said.

Eiji smiled and patted his back. "Just remember that if she gets hurt, you'll pay."

Fuji smiled at him. "I'll be sure to remember that."

* * *

"Oh, good morning, Oishi!" Kyoko said, waving at Oishi.

Her and Ryoma were waiting at the front gate of the school as Oishi arrived.

"Morning," Oishi said, waving back.

"Oishi-sempai," Ryoma acknowledged, fixing his hat.

"Hello Ryoma," Oishi said, smiling at Ryoma.

Just then Sachi walked up with Yuuta.

"I found out Yuuta doesn't handle caffeine well. I got him a grandé, which is hardly enough for me and well…" Sachi said, glancing at Yuuta who was shaking. "You can see for yourself…"

"Oh…" Kyoko said, patting Yuuta on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Yuuta…"

Yuuta just stared at her while continuing to shake.

Fuji and Eiji walked up behind them.

"Oh, I see Yuuta actually drank some coffee," Fuji said, smiling at him.

"Why is Yuuta shaking?" Tezuka asked as he joined the group.

Sachi held up her venté coffee. "Except his was a bit smaller."

"Oh."

"He said he was sleepy," Sachi defended.

"I don't care, it's not one of my team members that you're killing."

"Aww, no need to be like that Tezuka…" Kyoko said.

"Like what?"

"Uh…never mind…"

"He will be fine. Right, Yuuta?" Fuji asked, smiling.

Yuuta just stared at him while shaking.

"He'll slowly calm down," Sachi said.

"Why did you get a hot coffee?" Tezuka asked.

"Because I'm always cold," Sachi said, frowning. "Why do you care?"

"If you over heat, Fuji's going to freak out."

Fuji and Yuuta both looked over at him.

"That one," Tezuka said, pointing at Shusuke.

"Oh, okay," Fuji said, smiling.

"Well, at least we can keep track of them…" Kyoko said with a laugh.

Momo ran up at that moment, out of breath. "I'm not late, I swear! This guy tried to kill me!" he said, pointing behind him where Kaidoh was.

"He said he was going to kill Bombaclot," Kaidoh said.

"Momo!" Sachi said, popping off the top of her coffee lid and frowning. "Ugh, if there wasn't so much, I'd splash this on you! Bombaclot isn't even here, one of Eiji's sisters has her for the day! Why are you such a bad person?! And Kaidoh, why didn't you kill him?!"

"HEY!" Momo protested.

"What, did you expect me to be on your side?" Sachi asked.

"I wanted to make sure you knew about his plan, so I needed him to testify so you could kill him instead," Kaidoh reported, glaring at Momo.

"HEY!!"

"You really expect those two out of everyone to actually be nice to you?" Kyoko asked in disbelief.

"Momo-sempai has never been the brightest…" Ryoma pointed out.

"Never ever," Sachi agreed. "So, are we going now? Hey, what's that beeping?"

Fuji reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone.

"Oh! Oh…oh…I have to take this," Sachi said, walking to the back of the group to answer her phone.

"Anyone have any idea who she's talking to?" Kyoko asked the group.

"No! Oh! It's a secret!! I want to know the secret, Sachi!" Eiji exclaimed, to which Sachi continued talking quietly on her phone. "Fine, but I will figure it out!"

Fuji smiled. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"We'll leave when she gets off the phone, so everyone make sure you have all of your things!" Oishi announced.

Sachi turned and motioned for everyone to start walking.

"Or we'll go now," Oishi corrected.

"It's harder to hear when we're walking," Eiji complained.

"Just ask her about it later, I'm sure it's no big deal," Fuji said.

"Well, as long as someone else is leading…I'm not even sure where the zoo is…" Kyoko said sadly.

Ryoma pulled out a map and started looking at it.

"You had a map…?" Eiji asked.

"I figured Sachi would be leading, so I wanted to make sure we didn't get lost."

"That's…really…thoughtful?" Kyoko said.

"He means the best," Fuji assured her.

"Why is everyone shaking?" Yuuta asked.

"That's you, Yuuta," Fuji said.

"I think I drank too much coffee…"

"You'll get used to it…" Sachi said.

Eiji put his hand on Yuuta's shoulder to help him stop shaking, but he started shaking, too. "Whoooooa…this is kind of weird…"

Sachi grabbed Yuuta's wrists and held him still. "There, fixed it."

"Aww…" Eiji said, backing away.

"Wow, that was amazing Sachi," Kyoko complimented, clapping.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "What has happened to our group…?"

Momo pointed at Sachi. "That's what happened to our group."

"You'd be bored if I wasn't here. Quit your bitchin' Nancy," Sachi said.

"Ha-ha, that's a girl's name!" Eiji said, laughing. "Momo, you're the female illegitimate child of a hippo!"

"What? No! I'm not a girl or an illegitimate child of a hippo! You're being so mean, Eiji-sempai!" Momo whined.

Eiji continued laughing. "I'm not being mean, I'm trying to tell everyone else your secrets!"

Momo glared at him. "Let's just go to the zoo already…"

"You know, Momo, it's hardly fair for you to complain about someone else being mean," Fuji pointed out.

"I can complain all I want," Momo countered.

"Yeah, we've noticed…" Sachi said.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You're stupid," Kaidoh said simply.

"I am not!"

"Quick poll! Who thinks Momo's being stupid?" Kyoko said.

Everyone but Momo raised their hand.

"It's settled! Sorry, Momo, but I'm afraid you're being stupid."

"What?? How is that fair??"

"It's a democracy. It's how our group works. You should know after all these years!"

"All these years? We've only been a group for one year!"

"One year…" Sachi thought back before gasping. "Wait, you mean after this tournament and the rest of the school year, half of this group is going to a new school?! How are you guys going to cope without each other?"

"I just think about how great it'll be when you're gone," Momo said.

"It's only been one year? Seems like such a long time!" Kyoko said.

"Too long…" Momo said.

"I don't think we came out here to talk about how long we have left at Seishun," Tezuka pointed out.

Fuji smiled. "Tezuka's right. We've got a zoo to go to."

"I think we're all sad about leaving…but we've still got the rest of this year!" Kyoko said with a smile.

"It'll be over as soon as you know it!" Momo said happily.

Ryoma glared at Momo.

Sachi poked Tezuka. "Aww, Kun-Kun, are you sad?" she asked, pouting at him.

Tezuka stared at her with a blank face.

"That's a yes until you say no! Okay, let's go!" Sachi said, as the group made their way to the zoo.


	22. The Famous Hippo Boy

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Two: The Famous Hippo Boy_**

"Wait…" Sachi said suddenly as the group was almost at the zoo. "Where are you guys going next year then?" She poked the third years. "Are you afraid of high school? I bet one of you is going to get a swirly!"

"You most likely just jinxed us," Oishi said.

"Ooh, sorry. I'll save whichever one of you is going to get it," Sachi said, continuing to look at Oishi.

"…why me?!"

Sachi flicked one of his hair strands. "That's why."

Oishi looked at her confused. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"You've only got two danglies, you should cut that."

"That's how my hair used to be."

"Just give it a shot sometime," Sachi said with a shrug. "New thing for a new school, you know?"

"Ugh, new school…new people…" Eiji complained.

"I don't want to think about going to a new school…we still have half of this year left," Kyoko reminded everyone with a smile.

"Yeah! They can't make us leave yet!!" Eiji said.

"No one was going to make you leave, Eiji…" Oishi pointed out.

"You can always take this year over again," Fuji said, smiling at him.

"And let you guys move on ahead without me? Yeah right!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Wait, you said school was starting next week, how is that half a year? Isn't that like seven days…six now?" Sachi asked.

"I wanna go to the zooooo!" Momo complained.

"Wow, you must really want to find your other parent," Eiji said, grinning at Momo.

"No! That's not why I want to go! I just want to go!"

"Uh-huh…"

"Eiji-sempai! Listen to me!"

"If we're not going to the zoo, can I go home now?" Tezuka asked in a bored tone.

"The beginning of the second half of the school year starts next week. We came back on their break between the first and the second half," Kyoko explained to Sachi.

"You have breaks, what's wrong with you?!" Sachi exclaimed.

"Uhhh, Sachi…" Eiji started.

"No! No, that's not okay! You don't just stop half way! Have I taught you nothing, Eiji? NOTHING?!"

"Well, I…I don't really want to go sit in a classroom all day with no one else there…"

Sachi shook her head sadly. "I can't believe you…a break…hah…disgusting……"

"I think she's finally snapped," Oishi declared.

"Finally? She's always been crazy," Momo said.

"Hey! Don't talk about my sister like that!" Eiji said, pushing Momo.

"Don't push me, Eiji-sempai!" Momo said, pushing Eiji back.

"I'm taking that as a yes…" Tezuka said.

He started to walk off but was stopped by Oishi, who grabbed his collar. "You're not going anywhere, Tezuka. This is a group event. The whole group is supposed to go."

Fuji and Oishi smiled at Tezuka who gave them a blank expression in return.

Sadaharu looked in his notebook. "Hmm…" he said, and then wrote something down.

"No breaks! You take a break, you fall behind, you are weak! WEAK, EIJI!" Sachi exclaimed.

"I'm sorry!" Eiji said, pretending to cry.

Yuuta looked around with huge eyes, still shaking.

Tezuka turned and glared at Sachi. "Stop trying to take apart my team."

"Just think about how much fun the zoo will be," Fuji said.

Eiji jerked his head up and smiled. "So many cute animals!!"

"That's the spirit, Eiji!" Oishi encouraged.

Fuji pat Yuuta's shoulder. "You'll be okay," he said, smiling at him.

Sachi glared at Tezuka. "Take it back, Kun-Kun."

Tezuka glared back. "No."

"Remember how you're paying me back?"

"Fine…I take it back. Can we just go and get this insanity over with?"

Eiji gasped and pointed at Tezuka. "Our captain gave in! Our team is falling apart!! Noooo…"

Tezuka smacked Eiji upside the head. "No, it's not."

"Oh, okay!" Eiji said, smiling and then grabbing the map from Ryoma. "Which way, team?"

"If anyone's making the team fall apart it's Momo." Sachi said.

Tezuka looked at Sachi. "You're kidding, right?"

"Hey, I don't know what he's like without me around…"

"Somewhat more normal."

"Well, where's the fun in that?" Kyoko teased.

"Our team doesn't fall apart…" Tezuka said.

"Besides that?"

Tezuka turned and gave Kyoko a look of disbelief.

"Well, I'm sure he'll get used to it…I mean, it's not all Sachi," Kyoko said pointing at Eiji before continuing, "who talks about Momo's hippo parent."

"Yeah, I'm perfect, admit it Kun-Kun. You think I'm perfect," Sachi said, poking Tezuka's stomach. "I'm perfect, I'm perfect…there's nothing wrong with me."

Tezuka grabbed Sachi's wrist. "Except for the fact that you're loud, obnoxious, and very, very high pitched at times?"

"Like what?" Sachi said in a squeaky voice. "I know right? 'Tis awesome!"

Tezuka dropped her wrist. "There's no way to win…there's just no way…"

"Just accept her for who she is. Because we all love her," Kyoko said with a smile.

"NOOO! I do not!" Momo shouted.

"We didn't ask for your input, Momo…" Kyoko teasingly pointed out.

"Psh, like that matters. I gave it anyway," Momo said, glaring accusingly at Sachi.

"That's good, Kun-Kun…acceptance is the first step," Sachi said, smiling at Tezuka.

"Isn't it the last step?" Tezuka asked.

"If you're dying it is. If you're admitting you have an addiction, it's the first."

"An addiction to what?!"

"Me!" Sachi said with a triumphant smile. "I mean, who doesn't? …shut up Momo."

"I didn't say anything…yet…" Momo said, offended.

"It's always best to cut you off just before you make any of your comments."

"Don't worry! He's just worried about us meeting his parent!" Eiji exclaimed.

"You've already met my parents!" Momo insisted.

"One of your real parents…we have yet to meet the other one!"

Ryoma leaned to Kyoko. "I wonder how long Momo's going to stand this…"

Kyoko shrugged and smiled. "Probably for a while…"

"The lions are the first on our list," Sachi declared.

"I wanna see the hippos!" Eiji whined.

"Lions are first anyway! See," Sachi said, showing everyone the map.

"That's not the entrance we're taking. That one is," Ryoma said, pointing to another entrance.

"Awww, but bears are stupid, I don't wanna see bears. I wanna to see lions!!" Sachi said.

The group made their way to the entrance, where they bought their tickets, and park maps, then continued through.

"Well…" Kyoko said looking at her map. "The bears are first…lions are over on the other side…oh! I want to go see the penguins!"

"Hippos! Hippos!" Eiji persisted.

"No…the hippos are…sick today…" Momo said.

Eiji glared at Momo. "They. Are. Not."

"Stupid bears…" Sachi muttered.

Just then a little kid and his mom walked by. "Mommy, that boy kind of looks like the hippos we saw!" the little boy said, pointing to Momo.

"Don't point, it's rude!" the mother said as they walked by.

"You'd think that the mom would be telling the kid not to say mean things about people, not that pointing is rude…" Oishi noticed.

Eiji ran over and gave the little kid a high five, then ran back, and laughed at Momo.

"Nooo! You told that kid to do that, didn't you?!" Momo exclaimed.

"Nope! He just knew a hippo when he saw one!"

Momo turned and noticed a group of girls walking past and turned to them.

"Hey ladies," he said, winking at them.

"Uh, I don't like hippos…" one of them said, and they continued walking.

Eiji sat on a bench, clutching his stomach from how hard he was laughing.

"I think there's something going on here…" Momo said, looking around suspiciously.

Ryoma smirked. "Yeah, Momo is finally shown for what he really is."

Momo fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands, pretending to cry. "Why…why me?!"

Oishi patted his shoulder. "I'm sure it's just some coincidence, Momo…"

"Well, let's go see the bears and get it over with," Sachi said, grabbing Yuuta and Fuji's hands and dragging them off.

As the group made their way over, the people walking past were whispering and pointing at Momo.

"Hippo boy, hippo boy, you are a hippo boy," Eiji sang as he skipped next to Momo.

Momo looked over at the people. "What are you all looking at?! I'm a NORMAL person!! Don't stare at me!" he exclaimed.

Kyoko looked at Momo, then at Eiji. "I don't think I can see the resemblance, Eiji…"

"How can you miss it?!" Eiji asked, pointing at Momo's face.

Momo smacked Eiji's hand away from his face. "You did this!"

Eiji shook his head and pointed at Sadaharu. "It was in his notes."

Everyone turned to Sadaharu, who was writing in his notebook.

"You did this?" Momo asked.

"No. I know who did, though," Sadaharu replied.

"TELL ME!"

"I don't believe I can," he said, pushing up his glasses.

"Shhh! Momo! Don't bring that up! It was a time of despair for him, Momo!" Eiji said, trying to cover Momo's mouth with his hands.

"What are you talking about, Eiji-sempai?" Momo asked.

"He had no notes and he was freaking out!"

Sadaharu looked through his notes. "I do have something in here about that…according to my notes, I was in a state of shock…and my notebook was repaired soon after. Total meltdown time: ten minutes and twelve seconds."

Sachi laughed a nervous laugh. "Oh…that's all you were talking about?" she said with a sigh of relief, then looked around. "Okay, done with boring bears, what's next?"

"I want a Big Mac…" Momo complained.

"Big Macs are murder, Momo, think of the poor cows!" Sachi said.

"Have they ever thought about me?"

"You never gave them a chance to! You ate them before they could!" Eiji said.

Ryoma looked at the map. "The giraffes are next," he said, pointing ahead.

"They're so tall, I'm jealous!" Kyoko said.

"Would you really want a neck that long?" Sachi asked, then turned back to Momo. "And the cows think about lots of things, like how they don't really want to get killed and mashed and eaten!"

"I still want one…" Momo said, pouting.

Ryoma smirked. "You can't get through Momo-sempai's thick skull when it comes to food."

Momo challenged Ryoma's smirk with a glare. "You eat just as much as I do."

"But Ryoma's not giant," Kyoko pointed out with a smile.

"Ry-Ry! You eat cows?! How rude!" Sachi said, pointing accusingly at him.

"I can't eat them anymore…Sachi won't let me," Eiji said sadly.

"CRIME!" Momo exclaimed.

"No, just a vegetarian diet," Sachi said with a grin.

"I just eat whatever I want at the time…" Kyoko said with a shrug. "I do like sushi, though."

"You're in good company," Ryoma said, then turned and glared at Sachi. "It's not rude to eat meat."

Eiji held his stomach dramatically. "I'm having a meat withdrawal!"

"You are not, there's no such thing," Sachi said.

"I want one of those things my mom made last night…"

"That was tofu, Eiji."

"To…fu? I always thought tofu was bad…"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!" Momo shouted.

"Oh…I guess I did like it…" Eiji said thoughtfully.

"She didn't do anything to him, Momo...he chose to like it," Fuji said, smiling. "It's actually not that bad…"

Kyoko looked over and saw the elephant exhibit. "Look at the elephants!"

"They're spraying those people over there with water from their trunks…" Ryoma noticed.

"Momo! Go get sprayed!" Eiji encouraged.

"Elephants are pretty much like humans. When one of them dies, they cover it up with leaves and stuff. And they have relationships and get married, it's so cool," Sachi said.

"Aww…that's so sweet," Kyoko agreed.

"It's how some people live, too," Fuji said.

"So, we came to the zoo to talk about life?" Tezuka asked.

"It seems that way…" Oishi said.

"I was just sharing…" Sachi said.

"Holy shit, a hippo kid!" a guy said, walking over to Momo. "Hey man, can I get your autograph?"

He held out a piece of paper and a pen to Momo.

"NO!" Momo said, slapping the pen and paper out of his hands.

"MOMO! Don't be mean to him! You don't get to see an oddity like you every day!" Eiji exclaimed.

Sachi picked up the paper and pen, and signed her name. "It's okay, you can have my signature," she said, handing it back to him.

"Uh, thanks…can I get your number, too?"

Sachi hesitated, and Fuji grabbed her hand and walked off with her before she could say anything.

"Does that mean that we don't have to go to the hippos?" Momo asked the rest of the group with a hopeful voice.

"Nope! In fact, we're going there right now!" Eiji said, dragging Momo toward the hippo exhibit.

Momo put out his hands to the group. "Noooooo! Help meeeeee!"

Kyoko waved at them just before they were out of sight.

"I think Momo's doomed…" Ryoma said.

"So, now what?" Tezuka asked in a bored tone.

Yuuta looked around before running after Fuji and Sachi.

"So that's a no? …how about you?" " the guy said, winking at Kyoko.

This time Ryoma glared at him before grabbing Kyoko's hand and running off with her.

"It seems like everyone is breaking up into groups of two…" Tezuka noticed as the guy walked away, crestfallen.

Kaidoh turned to Sadaharu. "I want to go to…umm…" he started.

Sadaharu nodded. "According to my data, the animal exhibit you want to go to is this way," he said, leading Kaidoh.

"Okay, way to prove my point, Inui…" Tezuka said, then turned to Oishi, who was the only one left. "Well, where do you want to go?"

"Well, there's this fish exhibit…" Oishi said with a smile.

"Fine, whatever."

"I'm sorry?"

"No, I don't care, really."

"You kind of want to go see the hippos with Eiji and Momo, don't you?"

"Hnn…"

"You do, don't you? Because Momo has been so annoying lately! We can go there, it'll be just as fun."

Tezuka shrugged and started in the direction of the hippos. Oishi laughed and followed him.


	23. Sachi's Secret

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Three: Sachi's Secret_**

At the hippo exhibit, Eiji was leaning over the side of the railing, while Momo was sulking next to him.

"Where is your parent, Momo?" Eiji asked, looking around.

"They're not here."

"Call them on your cell phone! I'm sure they'll answer!!"

Tezuka and Oishi walked up to them at that moment.

"It's that one," Tezuka said, pointing to one as he walked past.

"What?!" Momo said, leaning over the side. "No way, I look nothing like that! It's not--"

"Fat enough? Ugly enough?" Eiji suggested with a grin.

"Second one," Oishi said, following Tezuka.

Momo watched Tezuka and Oishi walk off with his mouth wide open in shock.

Eiji started laughing. "It's true…it's so true…"

"I knew going to the zoo was a bad idea…"

Just then, one of the hippos came out of the water and walked toward them. He stopped and looked up at them.

Eiji gasped. "That's your parent, isn't it??" he said, and then looked around. "I need a zoo keeper, stay here."

With that, Eiji ran off, leaving Momo by himself with the hippos.

* * *

"Fuji, when do we get to stop?" Sachi asked.

"When that guy is gone," Fuji said.

"He is gone…he has been since the elephants…why does it matter, anyway?" Sachi asked.

"It's just…not good for you to talk to strangers, that's all…"

Sachi sighed dramatically. "My mom already told me that before, Shusuke. That guy just wanted an autograph from the hippo boy, who didn't want to give it to him, so I gave him one instead. Mine was better anyway."

"I know…but…he also wanted your number…"

"Who wouldn't want my number?" Sachi said, smiling at Fuji, who gave her a slightly sad look in return. "Fuji…what's wrong?"

"…it's nothing. What do you want to do now?"

"Well, I wanted to see the hippos, but since Eiji's right there talking to a zoo keeper, I think we missed it."

Eiji finished talking to the zoo keeper, and ran back to Momo.

* * *

At the petting zoo, Kaidoh was holding a bunny, while Sadaharu was taking notes.

"It's so soft…" Kaidoh said.

Sadaharu nodded. "This is very non-stressful…it can help with your training…"

* * *

"Yeah, that was your real dad!" Eiji exclaimed to Momo as he got back, jumping up and down. "We have to buy him and see if it works."

Sachi and Fuji walked up together.

"There's always suicide," Sachi told Momo.

Momo paused, then shook his head. "I still need to play tennis."

"And you got to visit your parents! I mean, you should be happy!" Eiji added.

Momo glared at Eiji. "Happiness is not what I'm feeling, Eiji-sempai."

"Wait, did you really just think about suicide for a second?" Sachi asked to clarify. "Momo, your life must be so pathetic if you'd even think about suicide."

"He was just reunited with his papa, now they can play baseball!" Eiji said.

"How does a hippo play baseball, Eiji?" Fuji asked.

"We'll find out!"

Momo turned to Sachi. "It is because you came back to ruin it!" he exclaimed, pretending to cry.

"Look, Momo's so happy he's crying with joy! Your dad is so happy to see you, too, Momo! Look!"

The group looked down to see the hippo, who was walking around.

"I don't think I see the resemblance…" Sachi said.

Momo looked up at her with hope in his eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, you're uglier than he is, and your mom is pretty…there must be some genetic mutation because of the cross breeding…"

"UGH!"

"Did you really expect her to say something nice?" Fuji asked.

"At this point, I just want _someone _to be nice to me!!"

Ann walked up at that moment. "I don't think that way about you, Momo," she said, smiling at him.

"ANN!" Momo exclaimed, hugging her. "Thank you! I knew someone would be on my side!!"

"Aww…really, Ann? The rest of us think they are…even random strangers do!" Eiji pointed out.

Sachi looked around. "Yeah…way to ruin everyone's lives, Ann. Look, you made that kid cry," Sachi said, pointing to a kid who was crying over their dropped ice cream. "Tsk, tsk…"

She wagged her finger at Ann, who returned it with a confused look.

"Don't worry, Ann, she just wishes she was you," Momo said.

"I'd love to be short brunette with a giant forehead…" Sachi said sarcastically, pointing to her forehead.

Ann glared at her. "I don't have a giant forehead…"

"I meant you're jealous of her because she's beautiful and nice and I'm nice to her. Everyone wishes I was nice to them," Momo said with a proud smile.

Sachi shrugged. "Looks big. Really, you should have side bangs at least. I'm just trying to help you out. You have short eyelashes, too. I'd buy some mascara, maybe even the expensive kind that adds caps and makes them longer. I'm just trying to help," Sachi said, then looked around. "Anyway, has anyone seen Kun-Kun? I want a fluffy drink."

Ann touched her forehead. "It's not that big…" she mumbled.

"No, it's not. Sachi's just being mean," Momo assured her.

Fuji turned and smiled at Momo. "Don't call Sachi mean, Momo."

"Or what?" Momo challenged.

Fuji didn't reply, but rather stared at him with a smile. Momo looked at him warily.

"Tezuka an Oishi just walked by…" Eiji said, pointing in the direction they left in. "We should go find them! Don't worry, Momo! We'll come back here to say goodbye to your father before we leave!!"

"I'm not mean, I'm trying to help her be pretty. Sorry?" Sachi said with a shrug, then turned to Eiji. "We're not bringing Momo. He needs to spend extra time getting to know his long lost father. We'll just leave you here to get to know one another better."

With that, Sachi walked off, with Eiji close behind.

"Try not to get into any trouble," Fuji said, smiling at Ann and Momo before following Sachi and Eiji.

* * *

As Kyoko and Ryoma were over at the penguin exhibit, Kyoko leaned over the railing. "So, why did we run away from that guy?" she asked, looking down at the penguins.

Ryoma hesitated, then shrugged casually. "He seemed…shady."

"Shady? Hm…you're probably right…" she said. "That's probably why Fuji dragged Sachi away, too, so she'd be protected…"

Ryoma nodded, though he hadn't made the connection.

"Well, thank you very much!" Kyoko said, turning to smile at him. "I'm glad I have you here to protect me."

Ryoma nodded again, and adjusted his hat, staring at the ground with a small smile.

Kyoko suddenly gasped. "That one waved at me!" she exclaimed, pointing to a penguin.

Ryoma walked next to her, and looked down at them. "I don't think he did, Kyoko…"

"Oh…darn…"

Just then Tezuka and Oishi walk up to them.

"Oh, I love penguins!" Oishi said, then looked down and saw one of them was eating a fish. "What? Nooo!"

"Don't be so obsessive with fish, Oishi," Sachi said as her, Eiji and Fuji joined their group. "So get this, Ann got mad at me because I was trying to give her beauty tips. Stupid, huh? I was just trying to help. Then Momo called me mean, which I get, but I didn't have my usual defence behind me. And Kun-Kun, I want a blue fluffy drink."

"Fluffy drink?" Tezuka repeated.

"Yeah, the kinds you can get at movies…"

"An Icy?"

"Yeah! Now fetch!"

Tezuka sighed. "Fine. Wait here," he said, then walked off to the eating area.

"Oh, I'm sorry you and Ann had a falling out…I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding," Kyoko said.

"Or maybe Sachi was blunt about it?" Ryoma guessed.

"What's wrong with being blunt?" Sachi asked. "Ryoma sometimes you look like a creeper when you pull your hat down too far. See, now he knows, problem solved!"

Kyoko took Ryoma's hat and put it in her bag, smiling at him. "You can see everything better like this," she said.

"I do it out of habit…" Ryoma defended.

"There's nothing wrong with me, I'm perfect!" Eiji said.

"You could lose the pointless bandage. Hey, where did Yuuta go? I want to tell him to grow out his hair so he doesn't look so scary…"

"Yuuta doesn't look scary…" Fuji said, smiling. "What about me, Sachi?"

"I'm scared what she'd say about me…" Kyoko said quietly.

Sachi turned to Kyoko. "I think you should try shorter hair sometime, or something flippy. And you," she said turning to Fuji. "You're just short."

Kyoko grabbed her hair and played with it a little bit. "Hmm…I can see that…"

"I think your hair looks fine…" Ryoma said.

Kyoko smiled at him. "Thank you, Ryoma."

"Oh…is that a bad thing, Sachi?" Fuji asked.

"It's not something you can fix or anything, just…isn't Yuuta taller than you? I wonder where he is, I'm a little worried about his caffeine intake…"

"…well…we're just different, I guess…" Fuji said, trying to smile. "I thought Yuuta was following us…"

Moments later, Tezuka and Yuuta joined the group.

Tezuka handed Sachi her Icy, and pointed to Yuuta. "I found him wondering around."

"I got lost…" Yuuta explained.

"Hey little guy, how are you?" Sachi asked Yuuta.

"Very awake."

"Still shaking?"

"No."

"Well, that's good. I don't feel so bad now."

"No more coffee, though," Yuuta said with a glare at Sachi.

"Don't glare, Yuuta, it's rude," Fuji warned with a smile.

"Well…you shouldn't have let her give me the coffee!"

"It was your decision to drink it."

"Next time pick something a little less caffeinated…" Ryoma suggested.

"Coffee's one of the least caffeinated things I could give him. Mountain Dew has like four times the amount or something. I was just trying to help, you were the sleepy one," Sachi said, then turned to Tezuka. "Thank you Kun-Kun. Your thing? Try getting contacts, maybe you won't look so old."

"…thank you for letting me know?" Tezuka said in an unsure tone.

"She's telling everyone something they could work on," Kyoko explained.

"She started with Ann," Ryoma added.

"Oh…sounds like something you'd do…" Tezuka said.

"I wonder what she'd say to Momo!" Eiji said.

At that moment, Ann and Momo joined the group.

"You wonder what who would say to me, Eiji-sempai?" Momo asked.

Sachi glanced at Momo before turning to Eiji. "Beyond hope."

Eiji shook his head sadly. "Such a shame…"

"What are you guys talking about?!" Momo demanded.

"What you could fix," Kyoko said.

"Then that means…hey!! What do you mean I'm beyond hope?! Quit playing around, Eiji-sempai!!"

"Who said they're playing around?" Ryoma asked, smirking at Momo.

Momo glared at Ryoma. "Of course they are."

Sachi glanced at Momo. "Really, really not. You're half hippo, Momo, what do you expect?" Sachi said, then held out her blue drink to Tezuka. "Want some?"

"Uh, no thanks," Tezuka replied.

"Me, me, me!" Eiji exclaimed.

"No, I bought you a blue drink at your tennis thing."

"Darn," Eiji said, then snapped his finger in defeat.

Momo laughed at Eiji, to which Eiji turned to him with a glare.

"Hey, at least I'm not part hippo!" Eiji said, pointing accusingly at Momo, whose smile faded.

"Okay," Kyoko said, waving at the penguins and then turning to the group. "Now where to? We've got everyone but Kaidoh and Sadaharu…I wonder where they went…"

Tezuka shrugged.

"Oishi?" Sachi said.

"He doesn't really care where they went," Oishi clarified.

"Oh, Kun-Kun, he's not going to tell!"

"What's going on?" Kyoko asked.

"I think Oishi-sempai is keeping secrets from our group…" Ryoma said, looking at him suspiciously.

"What?! Why would I be keeping secrets from the group?"

"You did before, Oishi!" Eiji said, poking Oishi.

"No, this time it's me, Kun-Kun, and Sadaharu. Oishi has no idea," Sachi said.

"Yeah! Wait, why don't I know?" Oishi asked.

"Because we don't want you to. Duh!"

The rest of the group looked suspiciously at Sachi.


	24. The Lions

_**A/N: **Hey, sorry for the long wait!! I got back from a week-long tennis camp a few days ago, and have been getting things together lately... [[Unpacking, doing some work around the house, etc.]] so I just found time to finish up the chapter today...my updates should be pretty close together for a bit, to make up for lost time...again, sorry for the wait, and I'll do my best to make each chapter much longer!! :)_

Oh, and in this chapter Oishi makes the comment 'let's not say that word around Sachi', meaning the word 'delicious'. This is a reference to Saffy's 'Stay with Me', in the twelfth chapter called 'Oishi Oishi'. For those who don't know 'Oishi' means yummy or delicious in Japanese, so Rei [[Sachi]] was doing a word play on it to make him embarrassed. :P

**_

* * *

Disclaimer: _**I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Four: The Lions_**

As the group was silently contemplating what Sachi could possibly be up to, a group of girls walked by.

"Ann?" one of the girls inquired, getting closer to them to see Ann more clearly. "What are you doing with this hippo boy?!"

Ann looked over and seemed to recognize them. "Huh? He's not a hippo…"

"Have you looked at him??" another girl asked, obviously not buying her story.

Ann looked at Momo, then back at them. "I don't know what you guys are talking about…"

"Seriously, Ann, as your friend, I'm going to have say, this will damage your rep…bad. A half hippo?" a third girl said.

Sachi stared at the girl talking. "You must be getting paid a ton! …oops!" she said, covering her mouth.

"…I don't know what you're talking about," the first girl said, giving Sachi a long stare.

"What did Sachi say…?" Kyoko asked, looking at her in confusion.

"I didn't do anything! Right?!"

The third girl nodded. "I didn't hear you say anything."

"Yeah, see, you guys are all crazy. Well, let's go then. Bye random friends of Ann!"

The girls all waved, and then walked off, leaving the original group to give Sachi an even more suspicious look than before.

"We should go see the lions now! Rawr!!!" Eiji said, pretending to attack Momo.

"Aw, Eiji, don't pretend, just throw him into the penguin exhibit…" Sachi said, but then rethought it. "Wait, don't do that. The poor penguins…"

"I like them because they're always fancy," Eiji said, with a really big smile.

"I'm pretty sure their appetite is much more tasteful," Ryoma said, smirking at Momo.

"What are you trying to say? I wouldn't be delicious?!" Momo demanded.

"…let's not say that word with Sachi around…" Oishi said.

"Good memories on that boat," Fuji said.

Sachi smiled at Oishi. "I don't even have to say it."

Oishi looked at the ground and blushed.

"Ha, I win!"

"You lose," Momo protested.

"Only a loser can lose, Momo. I'm a winner."

"Psh, so am I. I'm more of a winner than you are!"

"So who would win between you two winners?" Ryoma asked.

"Me, obviously," Momo and Sachi replied at the same time.

Ryoma smirked.

"You knew that was coming…" Kyoko said.

"Momo, don't make us put it to vote. You'll just lose in front of your little crush," Sachi said.

"We've done this time after time. Can we just let it rest for once?" Tezuka asked.

"Please! I agree with you one hundred percent, Tezuka!" Momo said. "They just won't listen to me!!"

"It's hard when you're yelling…" Ryoma said.

Momo glared at Ryoma. "You know what I mean, Echizen!"

"I wanna go to the nocturnal house!!" Eiji whined.

"Why Eiji?" Fuji asked.

Eiji shrugged. "It sounds like it'd be fun…? And we can feed Momo to the Vampire bats!"

"Nocturnal house is boring; you can't see anything. I want to see the lions. Lions can see," Sachi started then put her hand out in front of Oishi. "Don't even say anything, Oishi. This isn't Sea World, there are no fish."

Oishi shut his mouth in defeat.

"Very good. Now…" Sachi said, looking around. "I'm lost!"

Ryoma handed her the map.

"What are you doing?!" Momo exclaimed, snatching the map from her. "She'll probably burn the map!"

"Burn the map…?" Kyoko asked.

Momo nodded and glared at Sachi. "Just so she could get us lost!"

"She wouldn't get us lost, Momo…that makes no sense…" Fuji reasoned.

"Everything she does makes no sense! Why would she start now??" Momo questioned.

Sachi sighed. "Fine, Momo, keep the map," Sachi said, then reached into her bag and pulled out another one. "Okay, so we have to backtrack a little bit, but if we go this way it's not too far."

She spun around, and noticed Momo's face was dumbstruck.

"You had your own map?" he asked.

"I knew you'd be stupid and take mine."

"Way to think ahead, Sachi," Kyoko complimented.

"It'd kind of be an obvious answer…Momo was just too dumb to think about it," Ryoma said with a smirk at Momo.

"Lions! Lions!" Eiji said.

Kyoko grabbed the map from Momo. "Oh, I see them on here…"

Sachi pulled out her cell phone. "Hello? …yeah, no it's great…where are you? …Oh, okay," she said, and then closed her phone. "I changed my mind; I want to see the tigers!"

"Oh! I love tigers! Let's go to the tigers!" Eiji cheered.

Fuji smiled. "Either one will do."

Momo rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with…"

"Tigers are pretty cool…" Ann said, smiling.

"Who was that, anyway, Sachi?" Kyoko asked.

"Someone just checking in," Sachi said simply, then turned to Momo. "Momo, how bad is your self esteem now? Still thinking about suicide?"

"I have fantastic self esteem," Momo replied.

"Good for you, hippo boy!" Eiji complimented.

Momo glared at Sachi and Eiji. "I have more self esteem than either of you, for obvious reasons!" he said, posing.

Ann clapped and giggled.

"Well, this is getting embarrassing…" Ryoma pointed out, taking a step away from Momo.

Kyoko nodded in agreement. "Let's just make it to the tigers without anyone getting hurt…"

"Obvious reasons? Have you not seen me? I'm the cutest blonde in this zoo, no, the world!" Sachi said.

"But…you're not a blonde…" Momo pointed out.

Sachi glared at him. "On the inside," she said through gritted teeth.

"I'm going to see the tigers," Tezuka said, walking off.

"Wait! You'll get lost!" Oishi said, chasing after them.

"We've got a map!" Kyoko said, dragging Ryoma behind her to catch up to them.

Momo grabbed Ann's hand. "I'm not going to be the last one!" he said, as he ran after them.

Eiji sprinted ahead of everyone. "I'm going to win this!"

"Be careful, Eiji!" Oishi warned.

Fuji turned to Sachi. "Shall we?" he asked.

"Nah, I want to see the lions," she said, walking off with him to the lions.

* * *

At the lion place, Keigo was waiting for Sachi.

"Ah, there you are!" Keigo said, greeting them.

"Shusuke, Keigo's been paying off anyone he can in the zoo to make comments on how Momo looks like a hippo. Don't tell, okay?"

Fuji smiled. "That's a good plan."

* * *

"Hm…it looks like Sachi and Fuji didn't want to come…" Kyoko noticed, looking around as the group arrived at the tiger exhibit.

"Figures," Tezuka said.

"I'm sure we'll run across them after we leave here," Oishi encouraged.

"Maybe…" Ryoma added.

Eiji gasped and looked around. "What is he doing with my sister?! He stole her! I always knew he'd steal her, he's a sneaky, sneaky little man!"

"Yeah!" Yuuta agreed.

"Yuuta, that's your own brother…" Oishi pointed out.

Yuuta shrugged. "He's the one doing bad things…"

"I'm sure they're not by themselves…" Kyoko said.

"And how would you know that?" Momo asked suspiciously.

"Well…someone called her, so maybe they're with that person?"

"Use your brain, Momo-sempai," Ryoma commented.

Momo glared at Ryoma. "I didn't want to assume."

"Since when…?"

"Assume what?!" Eiji exclaimed, pinning Momo to the side of the cage. "What have you done with her?!"

"No, Kikumaru, we're mad at Shusuke, remember?" Yuuta reminded him.

"I think Momo's in on it…"

"How could I be in on something?! I wouldn't be on her side!" Momo said.

Eiji paused, and then let him go. "You're probably right…" he said, then side glanced at him. "Just watch your back."

"Let's just hope Eiji-sempai doesn't snap," Ryoma said.

"That'd probably be no good…" Kyoko said.

The tiger in the exhibit roared then, causing most of the group to jump.

"Raaaawrrr!" Eiji mimicked.

Tezuka started walking away, and Oishi turned to him. "Tezuka, where are you going?!"

"We saw the tigers, I'm going somewhere else," Tezuka said.

"YOU!" Eiji exclaimed, chasing after Tezuka and jumped on his back. "You're in on it, aren't you? Aren't you 'Kun-Kun'?!"

"Kikumaru…get off my back," Tezuka said.

"Not until you admit it!"

"I'm not in on anything. Now get off me before I make you do extra laps."

Oishi walked over and helped Eiji off of Tezuka. "Eiji, let's go somewhere else…"

Eiji glared at Oishi and Tezuka.

"You know, Eiji-sempai…" Momo started, a mischievous grin on his face. "Without Sachi or Fuji around, you're not that tough…"

"I—I…" Eiji said, looking around wildly. "I have Oishi on my side, we're like one!"

He linked his arm with Oishi's.

"Uh…I'd rather not get dragged into this…" Oishi said.

"Eh?? We're doubles partners! You're supposed to have my back no matter what!"

"I don't remember that being in the description of being your doubles partner…"

Eiji stared at Oishi with his mouth open, then turned and looked around for someone to back him up. "Chibi-chan?"

Ryoma simply fixed his hat and stared at the ground.

"Just admit it, Eiji, without Sachi or Fuji…the older Fuji…" Momo clarified to Yuuta, and then turned back to Eiji. "Your crazy claims just don't hold."

Eiji looked around for help, when a tour guide leading a group of people walked by.

"And to our left, we see a group of Japanese students enjoying a lovely day with a hippo boy," the tour guide said, pointing to the group. "You can take pictures, but please, don't get too close or he may attack."

The group turned to each other and whispered comments about Momo.

"Smile Momo, you're going to be the next internet phenomenon!" Eiji said, pinching Momo's cheek.

"Oh man, are you kidding, this is great!" Sachi said as she and Fuji joined the group. "Hi guys, sorry, I wanted to go see the lions."

"No I'm not!" Momo suddenly exclaimed as he stormed over to the tour guide and his group.

The group started screaming, and the tour guide walked in front of Momo.

"Mr. Hippo, sir, please refrain from hurting anyone," he said.

Momo stared at him, then at the group of people. "I'm not going to hurt anyone…"

Sachi walked over and grabbed Momo. "Sorry, I'll keep the freakish hippo away from everyone."

She dragged him back over to the group as the tour guide's group cheered.

"What were you two doing?!?!" Eiji exclaimed, staring at Fuji.

Fuji smiled. "Looking at the lions."

Ann pat Momo on the shoulder. "Everyone's just being mean to you, don't worry…"

Momo pretended to cry on her shoulder.

"Momo has been pretending to cry a lot lately," Kyoko noticed.

Momo looked up and glared at her. "Who's pretending?!"

"You cry, Momo?" Sachi asked with a look of disbelief. "That's even less manly than playing tennis. And Ann, shame on you for comforting the hippo!"

Ann glared at Sachi. "He's not a hippo."

"He's totally a hippo, why are you sticking up for him?!"

"What else were you doing?!" Eiji asked.

"We weren't doing anything else…" Fuji said with a smile.

"I don't believe you!"

"Why not?"

"I don't trust you."

"What kind of friendship is that?"

Yuuta laughed.

"And this is about the time where everything falls apart and we all get kicked out," Tezuka said with a sigh.

"No, don't say that, Tezuka! Just enjoy everything!" Kyoko said.

Tezuka gave her an unconvinced look in return.

"If it's bothering you, just leave," Sachi said, looking at Tezuka.

"Thank you," Tezuka said, walking off.

"But you can't leave without me! Hey! Wait, I have to order you around!"

Tezuka turned back to Sachi, and weighed his options.

"Dooo iiiiit!" Eiji pressured.

"Do what, Eiji?" Kyoko asked.

Eiji shrugged and smiled at Tezuka. "Whichever one he thinks is the right choice…"

Fuji smiled. "Choose wisely Tezuka."

Tezuka sighed and kept walking.

"Not okay, mister!" Sachi exclaimed, walking next to him and punching him lightly.

"Careful, Sachi…" Fuji warned. "We don't want any injuries."

"I don't want to hurt Kun-Kun. He's just a little fella!" Sachi said, standing on her tiptoes to pat his head. "Well, not size wise, but strength wise. It's not like Momo; he doesn't insult me every second he gets."

"You're ugly," Momo commented.

"Point proven."

"Don't be rude," Kyoko said, aiming a glare at Momo.

"Well, it's true! And NO I don't like her!" Momo said, pointing at Ryoma, who closed his mouth.

"I'm not little either way…" Tezuka pointed out, staring at Sachi.

"I'd fight you on that, but I don't want to hurt you," Sachi said, then turned to Momo. "And Momo, the more you say you don't like me, the more we know you do, so just stop. Your insults don't even hurt me."

"Because you're a heartless evil zombie!" Momo exclaimed.

"I can't be a zombie, I never died…"

"That we know of…" Momo said, looking at her suspiciously.

"Momo, I suggest you be quiet now," Fuji said with a smile at him.

"Why do you care, Fuji-sempai?" Momo asked, challenging Fuji's smile.

There was a pause.

"I wouldn't mess with Fuji-sempai, Momo. He'd put you in your place," Ryoma warned with a smirk.

"I just want to know why he'd care that I'm being mean to Sachi…" Momo persisted, staring at Fuji expectantly.

Eiji leaned to Oishi. "I think Momo's feeling threatened by Fuji! He wants Sachi all to himself!"

Momo turned and glared at Eiji. "No I don't! Let's just figure out something else to do!" he said, storming off.

The group followed, but Fuji stayed towards the back.

"Because I like her…" Fuji mumbled, glaring at the back of Momo's head.


	25. Tezuka's Quiet Time

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Five: Tezuka's Quiet Time_**

"Tezuka, you shouldn't leave yet…unless you're leading the rest of us," Oishi said as the group was following Tezuka and Sachi.

"I don't care where he's going as long as I get to order him around when we get there," Sachi said.

"Fine, but I'm separating you from Momo," Tezuka said. "It's getting annoying."

Eiji laughed and pointed at Momo. "Ha, Momo, you're annoying!"

"What?!" Momo exclaimed. "That's not what he said!"

"Like that's going to stop Eiji-sempai from spreading that rumor around…" Ryoma pointed out.

Eiji continued smiling at Momo, to which Momo turned to Tezuka for help. "Tezuka, tell them that's not what you said!"

Tezuka stared at them, and then turned to Sachi. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Tezuka!" Momo protested.

"You were the one who was about to leave," Sachi pointed out. "You lead the way; I'll just boss you around when we get wherever."

"Okay," Tezuka said, starting to walk away.

"Bye guys! Bye hippo boy!" Sachi said as she skipped off after Tezuka.

"I AM NOT A HIPPO!" Momo exclaimed.

"YES YOU ARE!" Eiji shouted.

Kyoko covered her ears. "You guys don't have to yell…"

Eiji turned to Kyoko and stood by her. "YES WE DO!"

Ryoma glared at Eiji. "Don't yell at her."

"Awww…" Eiji said, putting his arm around Ryoma's shoulder. "How cute, defending your woman…"

"Eiji-sempai…get off of me…"

"I think I'm going to follow them," Fuji said, walking after Sachi and Tezuka.

Eiji looked around. "I don't trust them with her. They were together last time," he said, following after them.

Just then a random guy walking by paused and looked at Momo. "Dude…are you okay? You kinda look like a hippo…"

Momo stared at him, and then started advancing to him, but Ann held him back.

"You can't hurt him…" Ann said quietly.

Momo sighed and glared at the guy. "You got lucky this time…"

Kyoko leaned to Ryoma. "I'd say we make a run for it, but I'm pretty sure things would fall apart if we left…"

Ryoma shrugged, obviously at a loss of what to do.

"Now, Momo…calm down, I'm sure he doesn't mean it…" Oishi coaxed.

"No I do, really dude, should I call someone?" the guy persisted.

"Ann! Let me go!!" Momo exclaimed.

Ann glared at the guy. "Stop provoking him."

Kyoko nodded in agreement. "You really should go before someone gets hurt…"

"We don't want anyone getting hurt here…" Oishi agreed.

"I think we do!" Momo exclaimed, continuing to glare at the guy.

"Fine, I'm just trying to help, man…" the guy said as he walked away, mumbling.

"This zoo trip doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore…" Oishi said.

"No, there's still time to have fun!" Kyoko encouraged.

Momo glared at her. "I'm not having any fun."

Ann patted Momo on the shoulder. "Why don't we go somewhere else, so you can't get upset by them…?"

"Like where? They've been all over the place. It's like they know or something…not that it's true! I want comfort food," Momo said, pouting.

"Oh, there a food place right over there," Kyoko said, pointing behind her. "We passed there a while ago, when Tezuka got Sachi an Icy…"

"I guess we should go find Sachi and them…" Oishi said, leading the group in the direction they last saw them.

* * *

"So, you're pretty much in for life…I could just let that little conversation slip from last night and…"

"That's not even funny," Tezuka said, giving Sachi a long, hard look.

"I'm enjoying it," Sachi said with a grin. "I wonder why Sadaharu hasn't been here in a while. Maybe he's missing…"

* * *

"Hello, we're back," Sadaharu announced to the group, pushing up his glasses.

"Oh, hello Sadaharu. Kaidoh," Kyoko said, smiling at them. "Do you know where Sachi is?"

"How would he…?" Oishi asked.

"According to my data, she would be approximately one hundred and twenty two yards to the west," Sadaharu reported, giving Oishi a small smile.

"To the west!" Kyoko said.

* * *

"I'm tired, Kun-Kun," Sachi said, looking at him expectantly.

"Do I have to?"

"It's part of the slave for life thing."

Tezuka sighed and crouched down so Sachi could get a piggy back ride.

"Man, this whole slave for life thing makes so many things so much easier."

"I wish Fuji was bigger…then I wouldn't have to do this…"

"True, but I like making you suffer. Remember that princess tiara?"

"Don't remind me…"

Just then Fuji and Eiji walked up to them.

"I want a piggy back ride, too!" Eiji whined, turning to Fuji.

Fuji smiled and took a step away from him. "I already gave you one back at the beach."

Eiji snapped in defeat. "Rats…"

"You know what, Kun-Kun? I think I've become your best friend!" Sachi exclaimed.

Tezuka dropped her. "Nope," he said, continuing to walk.

Sachi sighed and got up, brushing herself off. "He's just in denial. He's afraid of having someone as amazing as me be his best friend. He's used to being the best at his little tennis thing," she said, shaking her head before looking at Fuji and Eiji. "You guys are good, too, though! I love you!"

Fuji paused and looked at Sachi with a slightly red face. He smiled and tried to cover it up.

Tezuka stopped walking at turned to them. "Oh, that must be it," he said in a toneless voice.

"Aww…thank you Sachi! I love you, too!" he said, hugging her.

Sachi hugged him back, and then looked at Tezuka. "Come on Kun-Kun, just admit it. We've become friends. You used to hate me, but you like me now!"

"I didn't hate you, you just made it very hard for me to like you," Tezuka explained.

"I did nothing of the sort!" Sachi defended.

Momo ran up with Ann at that moment. "Yes she did!!"

"Did you even hear what we were talking about…?" Tezuka asked.

"No…but I still know she did it!" he exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Sachi.

"Pointing is rude, Momo," Fuji said, smiling.

"Really Momo? Because I just said I didn't think you liked me…" Sachi said.

Momo gave her an unconvinced look. "No you didn't…"

"But you just said you don't know that."

"I…I…come on, Ann, I'm hungry," Momo said, dragging Ann off.

"I thought you just ate…!!" Ann exclaimed.

"I'm hungry again!!"

The group watched as Ann and Momo went out of sight.

"Bye hippo!" Sachi said, waving to them. "Well, there goes Oishi's perfect girl getting dragged off by a hippo…so Kun-Kun, back to you, best friends? Yes? No? Come on, you know you just want to get it off your chest."

"I have nothing on my chest," Tezuka said simply.

"I think you do," Sachi said, nodding. "Well, I'll give you time."

She sat on a bench and waited. Tezuka stared at her blankly, then turned and started walking away.

Eiji gasped, and ran over to him, jumping on his back. "Piggy back ride!"

"Kikumaru. Get off."

"You didn't answer Sachi's question!"

"She said she was giving me time to think about it. I'm taking that time to walk away and get a moment to myself."

"Eiji, down," Sachi commanded.

"Aww…" Eiji whined, sliding off Tezuka's back. "Fine, what do we do then?"

"Sit and wait."

"No way! I'm going to find Momo!" Eiji said, zooming off.

Fuji smiled. "Sometimes I wish he could sit still."

"He wouldn't be Eiji if he did that," Tezuka pointed out before walking off.

* * *

In the eating area, Momo and Ann were sitting down, and talking, when Eiji rushed in. "Hippo boy!!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Momo shouted.

"Nah, it's okay," Eiji said, waving his hand dismissively. "So, how do you feel knowing you stole Oishi's girl?"

"Oishi?" Ann and Momo inquired at the same time.

"Yeah, Ann's perfect for Oishi! Ask Inui!"

Ann looked at Eiji funny. "I'm…confused…"

"Psh, she is not. I can't believe either of you anymore! You two started this whole hippo thing…"

Eiji laughed. "But…it's so true…" he said, then looked at Ann. "Anyway, Oishi's going to be so sad now…you broke his heart. You just waltz in here and start playing with hearts! YOU'LL GET WHAT'S COMING TO YOU!"

With that, Eiji stormed out.

Momo turned to Ann. "He's crazy, don't listen to him."

Ann looked at him with wide eyes. "But…I didn't play with anyone's hearts…what's he talking about?"

"Like I said, he's crazy."

* * *

"Oh, we found you!" Kyoko said, as her group joined Sachi and Fuji. "Nice job navigating, Sadaharu!"

"We weren't even that far away from them…" Ryoma pointed out.

"As long as we found them," Oishi with a shrug.

Sachi turned to the group. "Hi!"

"Why are you guys just sitting there?" Oishi asked.

"Oh, Tezuka's thinking. And Eiji ran away."

"Thinking?"

"About us being best friends."

"Oh…I guess we missed a lot…"

"We should've expected as much with Sachi here," Ryoma said.

Fuji smiled at Ryoma. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ryoma smirked at Fuji.

Eiji ran up to the group, out of breath. "Wow…that was…quite a run!"

"Looks like we're getting some training done here. Tezuka needs to stop thinking about your friendship and come see," Oishi said.

"No, no, he needs to think," Sachi said.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses, to which Sachi glared at him.

"I will go find him," Sadaharu said.

He opened his notebook and started flipping through it as he walked away.

Sachi looked around. "You know what…Eiji, come, we're getting something to eat."

"Okay!" Eiji said, jogging off.

"Be careful you two!" Oishi called out.

"Wasn't Eiji just in there…?" Kyoko asked.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "Eiji's not one to just sit around."

"Hm…you have a point…"

Fuji watched as Sadaharu went out of sight. "I wonder where Tezuka went…"

"Probably as far as he could get away…" Ryoma said.

Fuji turned to Ryoma. "Really, what does that mean?"

Ryoma smirked. "I was just saying that Tezuka probably took the first opportunity to get away."

"Does anyone else feel like we're missing a huge chunk of a puzzle or something?" Oishi asked.

"What do you mean, Oishi?" Kyoko asked.

"I think Sachi, Tezuka and Inui are all in on something…plus, there's this whole Momo hippo thing…"

"And we all know the Momo thing is true," Ryoma said with a smirk.

"That's what Eiji would say, anyway…"

"Well, maybe if we work together, we can figure out what they're up to!" Oishi said.

"Figure out what who's up to?" a voice said behind them.

They turned and saw Tezuka standing there.

Oishi glanced at him, debating whether he should tell him. "We're trying to figure out what's going on with you, Sachi and Inui."

Sadaharu walked up behind Tezuka, and looked at Oishi. "What do you mean 'what's going on'?"

"You know…you guys are acting like you have a secret or something…"

"What would we possibly have a secret on?" Tezuka asked.

"You tell us," Kyoko added with a smile.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "I do not have any records of any secrets. Tezuka?"

Tezuka glanced at Sadaharu and shrugged. "Sorry, Inui, I have no idea what they're talking about either."

"Well, that was easily solved," Sadaharu said, closing his notebook.

"I don't believe you guys…" Oishi said, looking at them warily.

Sadaharu lifted his notebook once more, and showed Oishi. "Data never lies."

"Doesn't mean you guys can't…" Ryoma said, narrowing his eyes at them.

"Now, now…we'll find out whether they have any secrets or not…" Kyoko said.

Just then Momo walked up with Ann. "Noo! No more secrets!!"

"Oh, done so soon?" Oishi asked.

"Well, Sachi and Eiji came in and…well, you can guess the rest…"

A large group of kids walked by with leftovers, and pointed at Momo, whispering about him being a hippo.

"Did they make an announcement or something…?" Ryoma wondered.

"No. Tezuka, I do need to speak with you for a moment," Sadaharu said.

Tezuka sighed. "I already know what this is about…" he said, as him and Sadaharu walked off.

"See, that's suspicious," Oishi said.

"I want to know what Sadaharu has been writing in that notebook of his…" Kyoko said.

"It'd probably be in shorthand so we couldn't read it…" Ryoma said.

"That'd be so like him!" Momo said, glaring at them as they walked away.

"At Fudomine, the team never has this much drama…" Ann said.

At that moment, Sachi and Eiji walked up to them, holding a box of cheese pizza.

"Yeah, well, you're boring," Sachi said to Ann, then looked around. "Hey, where'd best friend go?"

"What has been going on with you and Tezuka and Inui?!" Oishi demanded.

"Huh? Nothing. Why, do you think something's going on? I want in on the secret! Who's heading this secret finding operation?!" Sachi asked, looking around sneakily.

Oishi looked at her suspiciously. "Don't…uhh…play dumb…?" he said, unsure of how to phrase it.

Momo laughed. "Like she has to play that! She's already--!"

He was cut off by Sachi taking a slice of her pizza and slapping Momo with it. "You know, I've always wanted to do that to someone…"

Momo looked at the slice of pizza. "Are you going to eat that?"

"Not anymore," Sachi said, then threw it away.

"Ah….AH!"

Eiji started laughing.

Momo glared at Sachi and Eiji. "You could've told me you two were coming back! We would've stayed in there!"

"It's okay Momo…we still got to eat," Ann encouraged.

"She just slapped me with a piece of pizza!! And then she threw it away!" he exclaimed, staring at the garbage can.

"You're about to go get it aren't you…?"

Momo didn't answer, but continued staring instead.

"Anyway, who's the ring leader to this plot findy outie thing? I want to be second in command, or leader depending on who it is…" Sachi said.

"I think everyone thinks you're already part of it," Kyoko said.

"Part of the three involved…so you'd be either first, second, or third…" Ryoma added.

Momo reached for the pizza, but Ann slapped his hand. "You'll get sick from it."

Sachi held up her pinkie. "I pinkie swear I have no idea what you guys are talking about."

"There's no secret going on between you and Inui and Tezuka?" Oishi asked.

"Well, what I know I don't think of it as much of a secret. Then again…" she said, lowering her pinkie. "I guess I shouldn't share without permission. So maybe it _is _a secret…let me go ask."

Sachi jogged off to find Tezuka and Sadaharu, leaving the rest of the group to ponder what the secret could possibly be.

"So there is something going on! We just have to find out what it is! Hopefully Sadaharu and Tezuka will let her tell…" Oishi said, hopefully.


	26. Making Sense

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Six: Making Sense_**

"Heeeeey!" Sachi said, walking up to Tezuka and Sadaharu.

Tezuka groaned. "Would you just leave me alone for like ten minutes?"

"No can do, bestie," Sachi said with a grin. "So, Oishi wants to know what the 'secret' is. Is there a secret, and if so can I tell?"

"No. We don't need that right now," Tezuka said.

"Okay! Toodaloo best bud!" she said, skipping off.

Sadaharu watched as she went away, and then turned to Tezuka. "She gave in surprisingly quickly…"

"That's because there isn't something she really wanted to know…we said there's nothing to know, so she didn't bug us."

As he was talking, Sadaharu was nodding his head, and taking notes in his notebook.

* * *

"There is no secret," Sachi announced as she rejoined the group. "And about the thing I know…I cannot tell."

She smiled at the now suspicious group.

"Is there a reason why?" Oishi pressed.

Sachi coughed and put on her best bored face. " 'We don't need that right now.' "

"So…it would mess up the team in some way," Oishi said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

Eiji pointed at Sachi. "You're Tezuka!" he said with a laugh. "That was a good impression…hold on, I can beat you…"

Eiji ran off, leaving the rest of the group to momentarily ponder what he was up to.

"What do you think he's…" Ryoma started.

He was cut off by Eiji returning, wearing Sadaharu's glasses and holding his notebook. "According to my notebook…" he said, opening the notebook. "Momo is a hippo!!"

"Why you…" Momo said, chasing after him.

"I guess we don't need the secret to mess up the team…I still want to know, though…" Oishi said, sadly.

"Hey…wait a second…MOMO WAIT!" Eiji exclaimed.

"No!" Momo protested.

"NO, NO WAIT! I think I found the secret!"

Sachi grabbed the notebook from him. "We're not supposed to tell, Eiji!"

"But…but…but I waaaaaaaaant to!"

"No, it's over and done with anyway," Sachi said, shutting the notebook. "See how I did that? I will staple your lips together if you can't keep them as shut as this notebook is right now."

"She probably would do it, too…" Ryoma warned Eiji.

"Aww…" Eiji crossed his arms and glared at the ground.

"Come oooon, Eiji-sempai! You know you want to tell uuuuus!" Momo pressured.

"Who do you love more: me or the Hippo boy?" Sachi asked.

Eiji gave her a disgusted look. "You, duh! Who'd love a hippo?"

"Well, I suppose, if it'd hurt the team, it's best we don't know," Oishi said, crestfallen.

Kyoko snapped in defeat. "Darn…well, like Oishi said, at least it won't become a problem…"

"Eiji will eventually crack if they don't tell us first, though," Ryoma pointed out.

"I will not!" Eiji protested, to which Ryoma smirked at him.

"Are Sadaharu and Tezuka coming back?" Kyoko asked Sachi.

"I dunno. I think they're still talking. Kun-Kun seems upset…he wasn't pleased to see me at all. And Eiji won't tell, because if he does, I'll never speak to him again and…since I practically live there, I'll move out!"

"Then where will you live?" Oishi asked.

"With Momo!"

"NO WAY!" Momo protested.

"You can't move out, Sachi! We're siblings! Siblings don't ditch each other!" Eiji whined.

"When they break promises, I guess they do…" Oishi said.

Eiji glared at Oishi.

"I don't care where she lives, as long as it's NOT AT MY HOUSE!" Momo shouted.

"Yeah! It'd be great!" Sachi said.

"No! Evil doesn't get to live in my house!"

"But hippo boy! You need to have some friends, even if they're fake," Sachi said, hugging him.

"It burns! It burns!" Momo exclaimed, trying to push her away.

"That'd be a very entertaining thing to see…" Kyoko commented.

"We could make a movie out of that! We'll call it 'Sachi moves in'!" Eiji said.

"Or 'The Haunting of Momo's house'!" Momo countered.

"So you're okay with the arrangement, Momo-sempai?" Ryoma asked.

"Of course not!"

"Stop lying, Momo. We get you like your little Ann, but it's okay to like more than one person. Like me!" Sachi said.

"What do you mean…?" Fuji asked.

"I like people…" Sachi said.

"Yeah! She t-h-r-i-v-e-s on attention," Eiji added.

"Shut it, Eiji."

Eiji smiled and shrugged. "I just wanted to make that clear!"

"I. Do. Not. Like. Sachi," Momo said, glaring at everyone in the group.

"It's in Sadaharu's notebook, there's no arguing with that data," Sachi pointed out.

"Speaking of my notebook," Sadaharu said as him and Tezuka joined the group, coughing and holding out his hand for it.

"I had to lead him back here…" Tezuka told them. "Without his glasses, it was hard for him to walk correctly…"

"I know the secret! I know the secret!" Eiji exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Tezuka looked at Sadaharu.

"I couldn't chase him," Sadaharu said.

"Hey, don't look at me," Sachi said.

Tezuka turned to her. "No one was before…"

"Pish posh, someone is always looking at me, I'm fantastic!" she said with a big smile.

"Sure…now can Inui have his glasses and notebook back?"

"Don't give it up, Sachi! Do you realize what you're holding?!" Eiji exclaimed.

"She's holding Sadaharu's only way of seeing…" Fuji said.

"No! Look beyond that! She's holding Sadaharu's notebook! The thing with ALL of the answers!"

"You probably couldn't understand most of it, Eiji…"

"But maybe Sachi could!"

"There aren't any secrets in here I wouldn't already know, Eiji. Why would I keep it?" Sachi asked.

"Yeah, why would she…" Momo added.

Sachi glanced at Momo. "Well, apparently Momo has something to hide, so…" she said, starting to flip through the notebook.

"Ach! No! Stop her!"

Despite Momo's call to action, no one moved.

"Guys!! We have to stop her!" Momo protested.

"…why?" Ryoma asked, to which Momo gave him a look of disbelief.

Eiji walked over and read over Sachi's shoulder.

"Eiji-sempai! Stop it!" Momo exclaimed as Eiji started giggling into his palm.

Sachi looked up at Momo. "Pink underwear?"

"That's why you needed to stop her," Momo said with a sigh. "She wasn't in the limo with us…"

"You own PINK underwear? Not red, but PINK? Oh Momo…oh Momo, Momo, Momo…"

"Eiji-sempai, you already knew that, why are you giggling?!"

Eiji shrugged. "To make you nervous," he said with a smile.

Momo glared at him. "I think we should give Inui-Sempai back his notebook…"

"I concur," Sadaharu agreed.

Sachi handed it back to him. "Enjoy that Sadaharu."

"Thank you. I have lost this notebook quite often lately…" Sadaharu noticed.

"Aw…" Eiji said, snapping in defeat. "We had it and we lost it…"

"Actually, Sachi had it, and decided to give it up," Fuji clarified.

"Well, someone other than Sadaharu had the notebook, and then Sadaharu got it back! So it's the same thing!"

"I don't think so, Eiji…"

Eiji pouted and stuck his tongue out at Fuji.

Sadaharu adjusted his glasses. "That's better."

"Well, since we've gotten that taken care of, what's next?" Tezuka asked.

"I dunno, we've made fun of Momo a lot already…" Sachi said. "That's really the only thing we came here for…"

"Oh, well, I'm glad we got the only thing on our agenda done…" Kyoko said happily. "We have been to a lot of places in the zoo, too…"

"And we picked up the hippo boy!" Eiji exclaimed.

"He actually came here with us, Eiji," Fuji reminded him with a smile.

"I am NOT A HIPPO BOY!" Momo shouted, glaring at a few people who walked by, whispering.

"Maybe we should head back to school if no one can come up with anything else to do here…" Kyoko suggested.

Just then Keigo walked by the group.

Momo pointed at him. "What are you doing here?!"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you guys would still be standing here, I was trying to avoid you…" Keigo said, looking at Sachi apologetically.

"Oh well," Sachi said with a shrug. "It's okay, Keigo, I'm not upset. We were just leaving."

"Oh, why is he here?" Kyoko asked.

"Is it part of the secret plans we're not allowed to know?" Oishi asked, looking questioningly at Tezuka.

"Secret plans?" Tezuka repeated.

"You know what I'm talking about…"

Sadaharu started flipping through his notebook.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Tezuka said. "You're starting to sound like Eiji."

"Meaning he's making no sense," Sachi clarified.

"I didn't want to be the one to say it…" Tezuka said.

"I don't think it matters. Maybe he just came to the zoo and saw us and didn't want any trouble," Fuji said.

Tezuka snorted. "Yeah right, Atobe not wanting trouble?"

"I'm right here…" Keigo said.

"Hey! I ALWAYS make sense!" Eiji said, offended.

"Sure you do, Eiji. Sure you do," Sachi said, then turned to the direction of the exit. "Well, what are we doing? Leaving, correct?"

"Yep, let's go!" Kyoko said.

Eiji waved to the hippo area as they passed it. "Bye Momo's parent! He'll miss you!"

"It's not my parent!" Momo said, shoving Eiji out the exit.

"Come on, Yuuta," Fuji said, smiling and signalling Yuuta to go in front of him.

Kyoko looked over and noticed Sachi pull out her phone and work on a text while she was talking. "Well, that was nice. It's good that you got to see your parental again, Momo. You really should have stayed there with them…"

"You can't win them all," Fuji comforted, patting Sachi on the back.

Momo leaned to Ryoma. "Who do you think she texted?"

Ryoma shrugged. "Do you think it's important?"

Momo nodded and glared at Sachi.

Kyoko looked over and leaned to them. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," they both answered.

Kyoko looked at them confused, and then turned to Sachi who looked up at them at that moment.

"What? It's a cell phone, not my fault it's better than yours," Sachi said to Momo, putting it away.

"Is not better!" Momo protested.

"Oh really? Let me see yours."

"…no!"

"I remember a while back, Sachi gave you an iPhone, Momo…she had two and she didn't know what to do with it…" Kyoko recalled.

"Didn't it break?" Ryoma asked.

"I don't remember…but knowing, Momo, he probably broke it…"

"No I didn't…" Momo said.

"Yeah, some girl sent you a text, saying she'd never date you, so you threw it against a wall…" Ryoma said.

"Ha! I sent that!" Sachi said with a laugh. "It was an April Fool's joke from when we were gone!"

"You made me break my iPhone?" Momo asked.

"I didn't make you do anything."

"Yes you did! You made me break it! How could you?!"

"It's Sachi…" Ryoma pointed out.

"Oh, that makes sense…but still!" Momo said, pretending to cry.

"I just can't believe that he broke it because I sent him a text…or that you don't have my number!" Sachi said.

"I do, too!"

"Wait, so you broke it because I said I'd never go out with you?"

"Yep, so it's your fault…I mean NO!"

"All that work you put into trying to prove you didn't like her, Momo-sempai, and you blew it…nice work," Ryoma said.

"No! She tricked me!! I swear! I didn't know who it was!" Momo protested.

"I think Momo's going to have a breakdown," Kyoko noticed.

"Momo's life is one big breakdown," Tezuka pointed out.

"HEY!"

Sachi patted his head. "Where's his Ann?"

Ann waved at her. "I'm right here."

"Oh, you were so plain looking I didn't even notice you," Sachi said with a chuckle. "Well, you know how to fix him, don't you? We can't go anywhere with this huge lug sitting around."

Ann leaned down and helped Momo up, smiling. "Come on, Momo. We have to go back now."

Momo sighed and smiled at her. "Okay, Ann…"

Eiji laughed at Momo. "How embarrassing…"

Momo glared at Eiji as the group walked into the zoo parking lot.

"Now where to?" Kyoko asked.

Sachi shrugged.

Eiji leaned to Sadaharu. "Got any information on the Sachi-Ann hate thing?"

"I was not told to collect data on that, and since it doesn't have anything to do with the team members, I have not been paying attention," Sadaharu replied.

"Darn, I'll just get my information elsewhere," Eiji said, looking around. "CHIBI-CHAN!"

Ryoma took a step away from Eiji, looking at him warily.

Kyoko stood in front of Ryoma. "No, Eiji."

"But I need information!"

"Try…Oishi."

Oishi looked over and backed away. "Don't drag me into this!"

"FUJI!"

"What, Eiji?"

"I need information."

Fuji smiled. "I don't have any Eiji, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do too have information! You're just not sharing!" Eiji glared at him.

"I really don't know, Eiji. Sorry."

"Hm…you know something. Maybe not about what I'm thinking of, but you know something."

"Wait, what? That makes no sense," Sachi said.

"Yes it does not, but sometimes!" Eiji said.

There was a slight pause as a few people tried to understand what Eiji had said.

"So, where are we going? No offense, but this parking lot is booooring!" Sachi said.

"Why would the parking lot take offense?" Ryoma asked.

"Who knows, maybe it's alive?"

"If the parking lot was alive, I don't think anything would make sense…"

"Apparently nothing does anymore…" Kyoko said, pointing at Sachi, Fuji and Eiji.

"Those three never make any sense…" Ryoma pointed out.

"Hey, I make sense. Fuji does, too. It's just this kid," Sachi said, pointing at Eiji.

"Why does everyone say that?!" Eiji asked.

"It's okay, Eiji. I understand how you feel," Momo said.

"It hurts, Momo. It hurts right here," Eiji said as he pointed to his heart and started crying.

"I understand," Momo said, patting his back.

"My sempais are a bunch of cry babies…" Ryoma said, shaking his head.

"What has happened to my team…?" Tezuka asked.

"I blame Sachi!" Momo exclaimed.

"Me, too!" Eiji agreed.

"EIJI! How could you?!" Sachi asked.

Eiji glared at her. "It was easy."

"Yeah! Welcome to the good side!" Momo congratulated.

"Kun-Kun! Do something!"

Tezuka turned to Sachi. "Like…?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Kick them off the team!"

"Just because they said they don't like you? …I don't think that's quite worth it…"

"I could play both of their sports!"

"But you're a girl. You can't play on our team."

"KUN-KUN!"

"Sorry?"

"Tezuka is on our side!" Eiji exclaimed happily.

Momo gasped. "For once I have other people on my side! And Eiji and Tezuka of all people!!"

"Maybe there's something wrong with them," Kyoko suggested.

"There's no other explanation," Ryoma agreed.

"KUN-KUN!" Sachi shouted again.

"WHAT?!" Tezuka shouted back.

The group went silent and stared at Tezuka.

"Did…did he just…?" Eiji started nervously.

"Tezuka-Sempai shouted…" Momo said.

Sachi sunk toward the back of the group. "Uhh…never mind…"

"Okay, now something's REALLY wrong!" Eiji exclaimed.

As the group was talking, Sadaharu was scribbling furiously in his notebook.

"Poor Tezuka…" Fuji said, smiling. "It looks like he's reached his breaking point."

Tezuka stared at Fuji, and Fuji stared back with a smile.

The group didn't make any movements or speak for a long moment, unsure of how to proceed.


	27. Jealousy

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Seven: Jealousy_**

"Well, then…" Sachi said, coughing and straightening up. "Anyone know what we're going to do?"

Tezuka sighed and rubbed his temples. "I don't care, as long as nothing like this is repeated."

"I don't know if I can promise that," Eiji said, glaring at Sachi.

"Sorry, Kun-Kun…I'll try and keep quiet," Sachi said. "I didn't mean to make you go insane."

"I'm not insane I'm just…never mind, can we just go somewhere? We're getting stared at," Tezuka said.

Kyoko looked around and noticed a few people stare at the group as they were passing. "I think Tezuka's right…"

"People staring at us isn't anything new. I mean, we have Momo in our group…" Ryoma pointed out.

"HEY!"

"Shall we go back to school then? And teach Sachi some tennis?" Fuji said, teasingly smiling at Sachi.

"Heckles no, I don't like tennis…and if you want to show off, do something I'd find attractive," Sachi said.

"Like?"

Sachi thought for a moment. "Huh…I don't currently have an example, but I will think of one, mark my words…"

"Hmm…" Sadaharu said, starting to write. "I think I may add another's information to my notebook…"

"Aww, Sadaharu, I'm flattered you think that I'm important," Sachi said. "Can Kyoko have her own page, too?"

"Of course."

"Eh? Why my own page?" Kyoko asked.

Ryoma fixed his hat and glanced at Sadaharu.

"Oh! Oh! Can I have a page?" Eiji asked.

"I already have information on you, Eiji," Sadaharu pointed out.

"Oh, you should share that information with the rest of the group!" Momo suggested. "You guys shared my information…"

As he said that, he glared at everyone.

"I did not share your information. That was Sachi," Sadaharu reminded him.

"One Sachi, Zero Momo. As it should be," Sachi said.

Just then a boy walked by with his mother.

"Look, mommy, a hippo boy!" the little boy said.

Everyone looked to the boy speaking and saw that he was standing next to Keigo, who walked over.

"Sachi, would you care to join me for lunch?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, sure! As long as it's somewhere yummy!"

"…may we come with you?" Fuji asked.

"No! Let her go with him by herself! We don't need her!" Momo said.

"Nooo! Don't try to get rid of my sister!" Eiji said, pushing Momo.

"Don't fight you guys…" Oishi said.

"You were just mad at her!" Momo exclaimed.

"Oh yeah…go away," Eiji said, glaring at Sachi.

"Can they come?" Sachi asked, looking at Keigo, and glanced at Fuji.

"I'd prefer not…"

"But…eh…" Sachi said, looking around. "Oishi! What should I do?"

"You're asking me for advice…?" Oishi asked, clearly puzzled.

"It doesn't sound too farfetched," Kyoko pointed out.

"But…she's never asked me for advice!"

"She probably just trusts you more than everyone else here," Ryoma said.

Keigo took Sachi's hand. "Come now, Sachi. We have things to do, places to be…"

"Whoa buster, Oishi never decided for me. He's the only one I trust to be impartial."

"Thank you?" Oishi said unsurely.

"You're welcome. Now choose!"

"Uh…" Oishi said, glancing at Fuji. "I think you should come with us?"

"Well, it's settled then," Fuji said quickly.

"Sorry Keigo. Oh! I know, take Momo," Sachi said, pulling Momo over to him, and making them hook arms. "He loves food and you can have a long discussion over if I'm evil or if I'm fantastic!"

"She's evil," Momo said.

"I beg to differ," Keigo countered.

"See, it's a date!" Sachi said happily.

"Uhh…" Momo started.

"I'd rather not," Keigo agreed.

"Okay! Off to the tennis courts!" Eiji said.

Fuji stood over by Sachi, and waved at Keigo, smiling.

"Bye Momo, have fun!" Sachi said.

"What? I'm coming with you!" Momo protested.

"Oh, so you want to be with me?"

"No!"

"Well, then stay here."

"But…"

"If you go with Keigo you hate me and we will all get it. But if you come with us it's because you like me and you're admitting it to everyone."

Momo just stood there, unsure of what to do.

"I, on the other hand, don't have anything holding me here," Keigo said, starting to walk off.

"Wait!" Momo exclaimed.

Keigo turned and stared at him.

"Um…um…" Momo stuttered and turned to Oishi.

"Why are you all suddenly turning to me for advice?!" Oishi asked.

"Because you're the only one that's nice to everybody," Sachi explained.

"That can't be true."

Sachi took a deep breath. "Shusuke gets mad at anyone who's mad at me, therefore strongly dislikes Momo most of the time; Eiji is pretty much the same unless I tell him about something, then he's on Momo's side; Kun-Kun changes all of the time, depending on if everyone else is fighting or not; Kaidoh hates Momo; Ryoma tends to be rude to Momo, though we all know they are best friends; Momo loves, slash hates me and he just flat out hates Kaidoh; Sadaharu can't make any choices unless he has data on something; Takashi…isn't anywhere…ever…and then there's you, who's nice to everyone."

"Oh…" Oishi said, blushing. "Thank you…"

"No! I just hate you!" Momo said, pointing at Sachi.

"You hate Kaidoh, too, don't lie," Sachi said.

"I do hate Kaidoh…but I don't like you!"

"I can't make decisions based on anything else," Sadaharu said. "Data is the only reliable thing."

"You really need to learn to make gut choices, Sadaharu," Sachi said.

"Gut…choices?" Sadaharu repeated.

"Yeah, like without thinking about it. Which do you want more right now: pie or ice cream!"

"At the moment I would select ice-cream, due to the fact that it's cool and refreshing and we have been walking around all day."

"Hmm…makes sense…"

"Momo, hurry up and just make a choice so we can get out of here," Tezuka prompted.

"Yeah, Momo, what are you doing?" Sachi added.

"I hate you!" Momo exclaimed.

"So you're going with Keigo?"

"But…" Momo said, looking around desperately.

Keigo sighed. "Well, I'm off…"

"Wait!!"

"I think Momo's going to explode…" Ryoma noticed.

"Good, let's just go. He can catch up if he loves me and if he doesn't he can stay here," Sachi said, starting to walk off.

"WAIT!"

"No, let's go."

Fuji waved to Keigo as the group walked away.

"So, why are you doing this to him?" Tezuka asked Sachi.

"He's annoying. I decided it's good for him to be put through some stress."

"It's Sachi's job to keep him on his toes," Kyoko agreed.

"So, where are we going now?" Fuji asked with a smile.

"Uh, I don't know. We've sort of been at the zoo all day…" Sachi said.

"I don't believe that is true," Sadaharu pointed out.

"You know what I mean."

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "I see. Be more specific next time."

"So do you think Momo will choose our group over Keigo's?" Ryoma asked.

"He'll stand behind the whole hating me thing until he dies. Even Sadaharu can't seem to prove him wrong," Sachi said.

"Data never lies. He does not truly hate Sachi, but he will not be joining us today. He's trying to prove to Ann that he hates Sachi. He will go with Keigo, but Keigo will not allow it, so he will lie to us the next time he sees us."

"Wait, Ann? Who's that?"

"Momo's friend…" Fuji reminded her.

"Oh, the boring looking one."

"She's not that boring looking…"

"What's exciting about her? Her hair clip? Her extremely horrid fashion sense? Enlighten me."

"Well…nothing specific…" Fuji stuttered with a cautious smile.

"Now Sachi, I don't know you very well, but would you say that you are jealous because Fuji said that?" Sadaharu asked.

"What?! I'm never jealous of anyone! I'm me! That's better than anything else!"

Eiji fell over laughing. "Sachi, you are the most jealous person I know! You're even jealous of Kyoko because Tezuka likes her, and you don't even like him!"

The group went momentarily silent as they looked between Tezuka and Kyoko.


	28. Rules

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs.

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Eight: Rules_**

"Eiji!" Sadaharu, Tezuka and Sachi exclaimed at the same time.

"Oh…whoops…" Eiji said, smiling and rubbing the back of his head.

"Um…I'm so lost…" Kyoko said, looking between Sachi and Tezuka in confusion. She noticed Ryoma was glaring at Tezuka, who was staring at the ground awkwardly.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "What Eiji meant was…umm…"

"Eiji, I yelled at you not to tell!" Sachi shouted.

"Is that why you three were off talking at Keigo's party?" Oishi asked.

"It slipped out!" Eiji defended.

"I knew it would! We should have just killed you!" Sachi said.

"Eh? Kill me?! You wouldn't kill your own brother, would you?!" Eiji asked.

"It would have been logical to do that in order to keep the secret," Sadaharu pointed out, pushing up his glasses.

"Can I kill him and take it back?" Sachi asked, looking at Sadaharu.

Sadaharu shook his head. "Illogical," he said. "Sorry."

"Damn it. Eiji, look what you've done this time!"

"At least Momo isn't here. He'd be all mean about it!" Eiji said.

"That doesn't really help that Momo's not here, Eiji," Oishi said.

"You said you wouldn't tell!" Sachi said, stomping her foot on the ground.

Fuji smiled in confusion as Kyoko began to speak. "So…Sachi doesn't like Tezuka…"

"We already knew that," Fuji pointed out as he nodded for her to continue.

"Yes…and then Tezuka likes…wait, I am so confused…"

"It isn't confusing! Tezuka has a crush on Kyoko!" Eiji said again.

"EIJI!" Sachi exclaimed, kicking him in the shin. "Goddamn it! We could have gotten away with it!"

She looked around and noticed that Tezuka wasn't part of their group anymore. "Oh, look, Tezuka vanished. I should find him."

As she pulled out her cell phone and began to text, Kyoko looked around. "Where did he go? I didn't even notice him leave…"

Sachi looked up from her phone. "Kun-Kun says he headed home and it's sort of sad that we didn't notice him just walk off because Ryoma was glaring at him."

Kyoko looked at Ryoma in confusion, but he refused to make eye contact with her.

"I'm sure Chibi-Chan was just taking a break because his eyes got tired," Eiji said. "Glaring is hard! I don't get how Fuji does it so much."

"I don't glare," Fuji said.

"Well, he needed to leave," Ryoma said.

When the team all turned to him, he hesitated and thought out his next words carefully to avert suspicion. "He was…making everything awkward…"

Eiji gasped loudly. "That's our captain, Chibi-Chan! Our CAPTAIN!"

Ryoma glared at Eiji.

"I'm part of your team, Ryoma! TEAM!"

"Eiji…just drop it…" Oishi said.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses and wrote in his notebook as he looked at Sachi from the corner of his eye.

"Doesn't all of this seem…odd…?" Oishi asked.

"Nah, not really. Remember when Tezuka took her horseback riding when we went to Hawaii? How does it seem odd?" Sachi asked.

"But I thought Oishi made them…" Ryoma said quietly.

"I suggested it! I'm not part of this!" Oishi defended.

"Calm down, Oishi, I'm sure no one's accusing you…" Kyoko coaxed.

"I agree with Oishi-sempai…you three," Ryoma said, meaning Sadaharu, Sachi and Tezuka. "Are up to something."

"What are we up to?!" Sachi exclaimed. "Eiji killed the secret we were all trying to keep so this exact thing would not be happening!"

"I didn't kill anything!" Eiji said, looking at Sachi offended.

"You gave away something they didn't want anyone to know, Eiji…" Oishi pointed out.

"…it was a small mistake!! It was going to come out eventually!"

"According to my data, it would've stayed a secret if we didn't tell you, Eiji," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses and staring at him.

"We didn't even tell him! He stole your notebook," Sachi reminded him. "Nothing good can come from stealing that notebook! First it went in the water, then Momo was a hippo…okay, that one was a good thing, but now this! Why would it have to come out Eiji? Why would Tezuka, Sadaharu or myself want someone to know?"

"Because you want to steal Tezuka!"

"That's stupid, why?

"Because he's boring!"

"Where are you going with this Eiji?" Oishi asked.

"Sachi wants Tezuka!! She has for as long as I can remember!"

"For as long as you can remember? How long is that Eiji? Because, as I remember it, I stopped wanting Tezuka when we stopped dating…"

"Liiies!"

"Wait, how would him being boring make Sachi want him…?" Kyoko asked, trying to keep up.

"Because she's not! Or she wants to make him not boring!"

"Why is he shouting all of his sentences?" Ryoma asked.

"Because I want to!!"

"Eiji feels bad for what he has done, but will not admit it, so he is trying to place different blame one someone else," Sadaharu observed.

"H-hey! That's not true!" Eiji objected.

"Then what is, Eiji?"

Eiji paused and looked around wildly. "Uhh…"

"I think we're stressing him out," Ryoma noticed.

"So…since we know the basics, do you want to tell us any more details on this? I mean, did he randomly tell you?" Oishi asked curiously.

"Since the 'cat is out of the bag', I will explain. Tezuka, while he was hiding from Atobe on the beach, came across myself. I, like usual, began collecting data. The conversation took an 'unusual' turn to romance, which was really my skillful planning. After I concluded and accused Tezuka, I could tell he was very stressed about it. So I told him he should confide in a female what his troubles were. He selected Sachi out of trust, I assume," Sadaharu explained.

"Well, that's good that him and Sachi are on good terms of that kind of trust!" Kyoko complimented with a smile.

"And Sachi listened because she wants him!" Eiji added.

Fuji turned and glared at Eiji. "She does not," he hissed.

Eiji pointed at Fuji. "See! You do glare!"

The rest of the group turned their attention to Fuji and Eiji.

"I am not glaring, Eiji."

"Yes you are! You are glaring!"

"Why would I glare?"

"Because you're like Chibi-Chan! If someone says something about the girl you like, you freak out!!"

Eyes turned to Ryoma, who stared at Eiji with a confused look.

"What are you talking about, Eiji-Sempai?" he asked, challenging Eiji's gaze.

"Oh, I think you know!"

The two continued to stare at each other until Kyoko intervened.

"Okay you two…we don't need any fighting…" she said, trying to keep the peace.

"Of course _she_ would be the one to say something, eh, Chibi?" Eiji said, elbowing Ryoma in the side.

Ryoma said nothing, but continued staring blankly at him.

"Aw, you don't want to admit it? Okay, I'll do it for you then!"

"Eiji, we don't need anyone else admitting things today," Oishi said.

Eiji pouted. "Fine…tomorrow then!"

"So, to sum all of this up, Sachi kept the secret really well, but Eiji's the one who spilled the beans," Oishi said.

"Why would I spill the beans?" Sachi asked.

"Because…you're like that," Oishi said.

"I resent that very much."

"Will you just admit you want Tezuka?" Eiji said.

"That would be a lie."

"She's lying! She's lying!"

"You're denying it!" Momo exclaimed, joining the group out of nowhere. "It's finally time for me to get my revenge!"

"Revenge for what, Momo?" Kyoko asked.

"After all this time of her teasing me, saying I like her, I can finally get her back! She wants Tezuka!"

"Where'd you come from?" Sachi asked. "So you DO like me? Because you didn't go with Keigo! So you must like me!"

"What—no…how did you do that?!"

"What? Turn it around? It's easy."

Momo sighed. "My mom wasn't home and I forgot my key…so…I had to come back here…" he explained in a grave tone.

"Sad story, Momo…"

"I was hiding over there until I found the perfect moment to strike!"

"But…since she turned it around on you, it wouldn't matter if you waited later for the 'perfect moment'. You would've lost anyway," Oishi pointed out.

"Stupid, stupid Momo," Sachi said.

"Hmm…" Sadaharu said, fixing his data. "Ah, now I see, there was a way Momo would return to us."

"You want Tezuka!" Momo persisted.

"One, I don't. And two, so what if I did?" Sachi challenged.

Momo paused and thought. "Well…it's easier to make of you when you're not admitting it!"

"So really, he's just looking for an argument," Oishi said.

"No! I just want my revenge!"

"Can we stop talking about Sachi and Tezuka please?" Fuji asked with a smile.

"Fuji feels threatened!!" Eiji exclaimed.

"So, if I admit it, you'll stop?" Sachi asked. "Okay, I want Kun-Kun…"

"Ha!!"

"To be my bestest friend ever!"

"Darn it, that doesn't count."

Eiji laughed and pointed at Momo. "She tricked you!"

"She has to do it over, and follow the rules this time!"

"There are rules?" Oishi asked.

"I don't believe in rules when they apply to me," Sachi said.

"The rules apply to everyone!" Momo exclaimed.

"Have they ever applied to Sachi?" Eiji asked.

"Well…no…but she should start abiding by them!!"

"I make the rules. First rule, Momo is always wrong…that's all so far," Sachi said.

"HEY! I'm never wrong!"

"You're always wrong, Momo!!" Eiji said, starting to laugh.

"Should we go get Tezuka and straighten all of this out…?" Kyoko asked.

"I think that would be a good idea…if it's just you and me, Kyoko. Having the whole group there is not a good idea…"

"Yeah, that probably would be best…" Kyoko said with a quick glare at Eiji.

"What?? I didn't do anything! I'm innocent!"

"So!" Sachi said, clapping her hands together. "Kyoko and I will take off and everyone will…do as they please. We have a human to speak with!"

"Are you…sure a few of us can't go with you?" Ryoma asked quietly.

"Oh, let them go alone, Chibi-Chan! A little competition never hurts!"

Ryoma turned and glared at Eiji.

"Yeah, because you know Tezuka is totally going to make a move…calm down, Ry-Ry. We just need to make sure Tezuka knows it is okay for him to be around us," Sachi said.

"The same can be said for Sachi," Kyoko said, meaning to direct it to Fuji.

She glared at Eiji who had his arm around Fuji and a cunning smiling.

"But keep yourself on your toes! You never know what might happen! …okay, time to go," Sachi said.

"SHE ADMITTED IT!" Momo exclaimed.

"No…she just said…you never know what might happen…" Fuji said.

"And even if she's not teasing, you know there are plenty of girls out there, Fuji," Momo said, putting his arm around Fuji.

"But none of those girls are for you, how sad," Sachi said. "Okay, we're really leaving this time. Bye!"

Sachi spun around, and led Kyoko toward Tezuka's house.

"Okay…so what do we do now?" Oishi asked.

Everyone in the group looked around hopelessly.


	29. How to Start a War

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty Nine: How to Start a War_**

"Do you think Tezuka will actually open the door to talk to us?" Kyoko asked doubtfully as her and Sachi made their way to Tezuka's house.

"Pff, he'll let me in…or I'll break down the door. We'll make it in there no problem-o. Plus, his mom likes me because I make him do things besides tennis," Sachi assured her with a satisfactory smile.

* * *

"Well…we can go play tennis…" Oishi suggested to the group.

"I want to go spy!" Eiji added.

"After you told everyone the secret, Eiji, I don't think we should follow your suggestions."

"Aw…come ooon!"

"I'm sure we can come up with something to do…anything…"

* * *

Sachi pounded on Tezuka's front door. "KUN-KUN, SHOW YOUR FACE!"

Tezuka's mother answered the door and looked at the girls. "Now what happened?"

"He won't hang out with us anymore so I must talk some sense into him," Sachi explained.

"Oh, come in then," Tezuka's mother said, letting them in.

"That was easy…" Kyoko noticed as they walked toward his room.

* * *

"We can go eat!" Momo exclaimed.

"I don't think Sachi would like it if we went without her…" Oishi pointed out.

"Another reason to go eat!"

"She can get food on her date with Tezuka! I'm hungry, too. Let's go," Eiji said.

"I thought you wanted to spy?" Oishi asked.

"You can't be a good spy if your tummy gives you away! Eat first, then spy!"

"I think I'm with Eiji on this one," Fuji quickly agreed.

"Me, too," Ryoma added.

Oishi looked at everyone. "I guess I should go to keep an eye on everything…"

"To Takashi's place!" Momo started.

"What if I don't want sushi?" Eiji asked.

"What?!" Momo exclaimed.

"Just kidding!!" Eiji said, laughing. "The look on your face…priceless…"

Momo glared at him. "Don't do that again, Eiji-Sempai!!"

Eiji continued laughing as the group started toward Takashi's restaurant.

* * *

Sachi opened the door to Tezuka's room and stepped in, Kyoko close behind. "Hey, Kun-Kun!"

"Knock first," Tezuka replied.

"Toooooo laaaaaaate, guess who's here to tell you it's all okay! And no one hates you except Ryoma!"

"I'm sure Ryoma doesn't hate you, Tezuka, so don't worry…" Kyoko added quietly.

"Is anyone else with you guys?"

"Nope, we left them behind…they're on their own to find stuff to do for a bit."

"Tezuka, stop being embarrassed. Kyoko doesn't care if you like her, you just have to realize she doesn't return the exact feelings," Sachi said.

"I obviously understood that before…that's why I didn't say anything…"

"Good, and I'm sure everyone knows. You can kick Eiji off the team for a little bit, I'm sure that'd make him realize his mistake."

"It's tempting…"

"I think you should! It'd teach him to think before he speaks," Kyoko agreed.

"I don't think anything will teach him that…it'd take a miracle," Tezuka said.

"Hmm…you may have a point. Maybe we can go back to everyone and pretend nothing happened? I'm sure everyone will pick up on it…"

Sachi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Momo and Eiji are positive I want to date you, so problem solved."

"I'm sure Ryoma didn't forget that easily…" Tezuka said.

"Why do you guys keep talking about Ryoma?" Kyoko finally asked, unable to figure it out.

They turned to her to give her a look of disbelief.

"Has she not noticed?" Tezuka asked.

"I guess not…Kyoko, pay more attention, please," Sachi added.

"Pay attention to what?!"

The two just shook their heads.

Kyoko sighed. "I don't get it…" she said quietly.

"Well, I know she feels the same way, so it'll just be a matter of time," Sachi continued to Tezuka. "He has to make the move, and then it'll be fine."

Tezuka nodded in agreement.

Kyoko suddenly realized what they were talking about, and her face became completely flushed. "W-what?" she stuttered.

"Oh, guess she finally figured it out!" Sachi patted her on the back. "Well, I'm going to go to my house now, it's getting late."

"Alright. And next time…don't come over," Tezuka said.

"Good one, Kun-Kun. Taa-taaa!"

Kyoko waved at Tezuka as she followed Sachi out. "Bye, Tezuka."

Sachi said her goodbyes to Kyoko as they reached her house, and Kyoko started toward her own house. All the way there, she tried to sort out her feelings. Thinking about…him.

* * *

"Okay! All done!" Momo exclaimed, rubbing his stomach.

"That was a good meal," Eiji agreed with a smile. "Now it's time to go spy!"

"Are you sure you guys don't want to go play tennis?" Oishi asked.

"Hmm…no, I want to spy."

"Spy on what, Eiji?"

"Tezuka and Kyoko and Sachi!"

"You really think they're still at Tezuka's house?"

"Oh…yeah…darn it…"

Ryoma turned to Fuji. "I find myself sympathizing with you…"

"I'm glad someone does now," Fuji said.

"Fuji and Ryoma have found a common enemy!" Eiji suddenly exclaimed.

"Eiji, he's not the enemy, he's our captain…and our friend…" Oishi pointed out.

"Well, he's an enemy to them! Our captain is trying to steal their women!"

"…that seems very degrading to them…"

"And they're not our women…" Fuji and Ryoma muttered.

"He's not the common enemy, Eiji. You are," Fuji clarified.

"MWA?! But why?!"

"You started all of this, and got Momo to tag along."

Ryoma turned to glare at Momo.

"What?! How did I get blamed for this!? It's all Eiji-Sempai's fault!" Momo said.

"…hey! You can't blame me! I'm innocent!!"

"You're never innocent! You're usually the problem!"

"Both of you are to blame," Ryoma said, continuing to glare.

"Eh? Oishi! Help us out!" Eiji said.

"No way am I getting involved."

"This is interesting…" Sadaharu noticed. "Usually Fuji and Eiji spend time together as well as Ryoma and Momo, but now the best friendships have been forced to switch…"

"Don't kid yourself, Sadaharu, this is no time to make observations!" Momo exclaimed.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses and looked at Momo. "It's always time to make observations."

Momo leaned to Eiji. "What's the plan?"

Eiji leaned to Momo. "I'm not sure…we seem to be at a disadvantage…no one will be on our side…"

"True, but they might not be on Fuji and Ryoma's side either."

"Negative, Hippo boy, they've got their relations to back them up."

"Darn…wait, I am not a hippo!"

"Focus Momo! We have to beat this!"

"You're right..I'll yell at you later for that hippo comment. But, then again, the girls aren't here to help them…so they're on their own!"

"But so are we…"

"Darn…well, at least it's even right now: two versus two."

"Unless…hippo boy! Lend me your cell phone!"

"Uh…okay…" Momo handed him his phone.

"Wow, this one sucks."

"Hey, my iPhone broke, okay?"

"Whatever…" Eiji began texting.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting us back up before the girls get here."

"From who?!"

Eiji just smiled and continued texting.

Ryoma leaned to Fuji. "What do you think he's doing?"

Fuji leaned back to Ryoma. "I'm not sure…but I don't think it's a good thing."

"Um…Eiji, what are you doing?" Oishi inquired.

"Inviting someone along. Is that not okay?"

"I guess not…as long as Atobe doesn't show up."

"Gross! That's gross Oishi! Groooss!!"

"Okay, I get it, goodness…"

"Good," Eiji said with a smile, then handed Momo back his phone. "Well…we should wait for them to get here."

"…this can't be a good thing at all…" Fuji said to Ryoma.

"Do you think Kyoko and Sachi will be back any time soon?" Ryoma asked.

"According to my data, they were quite sleepy and returned to their respective homes, though I'm sure Kyoko could be talked into a game of tennis," Sadaharu explained.

"Well…there's always…" Fuji started.

"No," Ryoma said.

"We may need back up…this is turning into a war…"

Eiji looked over and saw Ryoma and Fuji talking. "Oh no…I think Fuji has a plan!"

"No way…your plan is better, though, right?" Momo asked.

"I hope so…"

"Now, now everyone…it's getting late…school starts in a couple days…we should all be resting, not starting a war…" Oishi tried to get everyone to stop, but no one listened.

"Fine," Ryoma finally gave in, glaring at Fuji. "But you're the one who wants them here, not me."

Fuji frowned. "Well, okay, fine. Do you have their number?"

"Sadly…"

"Oh, look, the person Momo invited is here!" Eiji exclaimed.

Ann walked over to them, looking confused. "Uh, hey guys. What's going on?"

"YEAH! Ha! In your faces!" Momo said, pointing at Fuji and Ryoma.

"Of course Momo would drag her here…she's the only one who would be on Momo's side," Ryoma pointed out.

"That's true…" Fuji said as he listened to dial tone.

"Who are you calling, Fuji??" Eiji called out to him, but Fuji just smiled at him, not saying anything.

"Psh, whatever, they still can't beat us," Momo said confidently. "And sorry, Ann, that was Eiji that invited you."

"Oh, do you not want me here or something?" Ann asked.

"No, no! Stay! It'll be fun, don't worry about it."

"Worry about what?"

Momo just smiled at her.

"…I think I'm rethinking this whole thing…" Ryoma said nervously to Fuji who got off the phone.

"…I'm regretting this, too, Ryoma…" Fuji said.


	30. The Game of Love

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or anything similar to it. ^.^ ; The personalities of the characters are my friends', and the personalities of the original Prince of Tennis characters are theirs._

* * *

**_Chapter Thirty: The Game of Love_**

"I think I'm going to go now…" Oishi said, looking at the chaos that the group had gone into.

"You can't go until you pick a side!" Eiji demanded.

Oishi looked at him with a helpless expression, as Momo tried to coax Ann into staying. "There's nothing at all to worry about…"

"If you count out the war we're about to have!" Eiji exclaimed.

"EIJI!"

"War…?" Ann inquired.

"Eiji's kidding…there's no war…right Oishi-Sempai?"

Oishi's eyes widened as he started backing away from the group, muttering, "Maybe I should go get Sachi and Kyoko…"

Ryoma turned to look at Fuji's phone nervously. "Can we change our minds about this?"

Fuji shook his head sadly as two girls approached the group.

"RYOOOMAAA-SAMA! FUUUUJI-SAMA!"

"Sorry…" Fuji said apologetically.

"I don't know if this is worth it…"

"Hi Ryoma," Sakuno said as Tomo stared at Ryoma.

"NO! They have TWO! Hurry Momo, we have to get Kaidoh on our side!" Eiji exclaimed.

"What, Viper? No way!" Momo countered, appalled at the idea.

"Do you want to win or not!?"

"Even if we got him to come here, it doesn't mean he'd be on our side!!"

"It's worth a try!" Eiji said, pulling out his cell phone.

Momo turned to glare at Tomo and Sakuno.

Tomo began bouncing up and down and staring at Ryoma and Fuji. "I always imagined you two would call me!! I can't believe it!!"

"T-tomo-Chan…" Sakuno started.

"Yeah, well, we were getting sick of Eiji and Momo," Fuji explained.

Tomo turned and glared at them. "Yeah, they're nowhere as amazing as you!"

As everyone was glaring at each other, Oishi had his cell phone out, texting as fast as he could.

Ryoma leaned to Fuji. "I think we've made a mistake…"

Fuji leaned back to him. "Not yet…they haven't done anything bad, so they're okay…"

"Hey," Ryoma said, noticing Oishi was texting. "Who do you think Oishi's texting?"

"I don't think he's on anyone's side…but, maybe he's texting Tezuka?"

As soon as Fuji finished the sentence, Sachi stormed into the group, holding Bombaclot. "God damnit Oishi, what do you want? I was sleeping!"

"Get me out of here!"

"What in the world is going on!? Oh come on, Ryoma! Kyoko did not go for Tezuka! You don't have to drop your standards to loud mouth and pigtails!"

Tomo looked over at her. "Hey! What are you trying to say?!" she exclaimed, standing right between Fuji and Ryoma. "Ryoma needed me here, I don't see Kyoko anywhere around! Fuji also needed me here!"

"T-tomo-Chan…" Sakuno tried to calm her down.

Sachi looked at Fuji with a puzzled expression. "So then why am I needed here?"

"To get me out of here," Oishi explained.

"Oh, okay," she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the sushi place.

"Plan back fired, Fuji-Sempai," Ryoma said.

"At least they're still worried that they're losing," Fuji said, pointing to Eiji and Momo who were panicking.

"I guess so…why did Sachi look at you funny for, anyway?"

Fuji paused, then shrugged. "I wonder where she and Oishi went…"

"Maybe you should go check?"

"…just to make sure they're okay…" Fuji said, standing up.

Ryoma smirked as Fuji left, muttering, "Of course that's why…"

"Look! Fuji gave in!! That means we win!" Eiji said, standing up and dancing.

Ryoma rolled his eyes as he watched Momo join him in his dance.

As Fuji got outside he saw Sachi and Oishi standing out there, talking.

"Hey…everything okay?" Fuji asked as he joined them.

Sachi and Oishi immediately stopped talking and turned to him.

"Yeah…everything's fine," Oishi said unsurely.

"Of course everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be?" Sachi asked in a more sure tone.

"I…don't know. I was just wondering. Are you guys coming back in?"

"I guess since I'm already here…" Sachi said in an exasperated tone, but giving Fuji a quick smile before walking inside.

Fuji smiled as he followed her, Oishi close behind.

"Ha, Fuji! You already lost!" Eiji cheered as the group of three re-joined the group.

"Too bad, Fuji-Sempai! But it was a clear win from the beginning!" Momo said, high-fiving Eiji.

"Oh no, Fuji…we lost…what will we do?" Ryoma said in a bored tone.

Fuji smiled. "I guess that means they get a present."

"Present!?" Momo and Eiji exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah…but I don't think they'd want it…" Ryoma said, noticing the glint in Fuji's eyes.

"Momo and Eiji? I don't think so…"

"What!? Of course we want it!" Eiji exclaimed.

"We love presents!" Momo added.

"Are you sure?" Fuji asked, walking toward the kitchen.

"Yes!"

"Okay then…" Fuji said.

He and Ryoma walked into the back and brought a plate full of wasabi-covered sushi.

"Eat up," Ryoma said with a smirk.

"EH!?" Eiji said, backing away from the plate.

"You have to eat it," Fuji encouraged. "It's your prize for winning. You wanted to win, after all."

"N-no! That's not the prize…" Momo started, looking around for support.

"Actually, that was the rules of the war…did you not get the memo, Momo?" Sadaharu asked.

"Memo!? Inui-Sempai, don't make things up!"

"I wouldn't dare," Sadaharu said. "Unless you'd like to try my new drink instead. I don't have a name for it yet, but it's especially for winners."

Eiji and Momo looked in horror as Fuji and Sadaharu held their choices for prizes in front of their faces.

"I quit! I quit! You win! You win!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Just don't make us eat that, or drink that!" Momo yelled.

Ryoma smirked, and Fuji smiled.

"Well, I'm glad we could settle that civilized," Fuji said, offering Ryoma one of the wasabi-covered sushi.

"Uh…no thanks, Fuji-Sempai. I'm…full," Ryoma said.

Fuji shrugged. "More for me."

The room flinched as he popped one of the sushi rolls in his mouth and smiled.

"…well, this is fun…" Sachi said sarcastically. "Hey, Sadaharu, pass that drink my way!"

"Certainly." Sadaharu handed her his drink, which was sea-green.

The room was silent as they watched her chug down the whole glass.

Fuji turned to Sadaharu. "Save me some of that next time."

Sadaharu nodded and assessed Sachi's reaction. "Well…how is it, Sachi?"

"Great…tastes pretty good…" Sachi said.

The group waited a good five minutes before reacting.

"Why isn't anything happening?!" Eiji suddenly burst out.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses and smiled at Eiji. "Because data never lies."

Eiji leaned to Momo. "What does that even mean!?"

Momo shrugged and continued staring at Sachi.

"Stop staring at me like something bad is going to happen…" she said, glaring at Momo.

"Hey, I can hope…" Momo said.

"Well…this got pretty boring…can I go home now? Kyoko didn't get dragged here…" Sachi complained, looking around for something entertaining to do.

Ryoma looked up from the table at Kyoko's name. "Where is Kyoko?" he asked out of impulse, and immediately regretted it as the group turned to him with smiles.

Sachi acted uninterested. "She said she had to go practice or something at that tennis ball machine…thing…place…she's always practicing when we're not with you guys…"

Ryoma tried to match her uninterested look. "Oh…well, I should probably head home now. Thank you very much for the food," he said with a bow, then walked out of the sushi restaurant.

"Aw, he should've waited for me…" Momo said with a pout.

"You guys have to get over the war you just had first," Sachi reminded him. "You can't expect him to forgive you just like that."

Momo looked crestfallen as the group laughed at him.

"Eh!? Ryoma-Sama!! Come back!!" Tomo yelled.

"H-he's going home, Tomo-Chan…" Sakuno said.

Tomo pouted. "Well…we still have Fuji-Sama!" she said gleefully at him.

"Actually…I need to walk Sachi home…I can't let her go home alone," Fuji said, smiling at Sachi, who caught on.

"Yeah, so buzz off," she agreed.

Tomo glared at her. "I need to be walked home, too."

"You have pigtails there," Sachi said, pointing to Sakuno.

Tomo racked her brain for another excuse but came up empty.

"Okay, let's go Fuji. I'm tired."

"Right behind you," Fuji said, smiling as he followed Sachi out of the sushi place.

"Young love," Eiji said with a giggle.

* * *

Ryoma made his way to the closest tennis courts with a tennis ball machine, which he knew Kyoko would be at. It was getting dark, but the light from the court was all he needed to see where he was going.

As he got closer he saw a single person playing. He realized it was Kyoko.

She was wearing a black tennis skirt, a white T-Shirt, and white wrist-bands on her wrists. Her hair was up in a pony tail and she had a black and red racquet in her hand. Even from the distance he was at, he could tell it was a Yonex, similar to one of the racquets he had.

He reached the fence just outside of the courts, but Kyoko was too into playing to notice he was there.

A tennis ball flew at her, and she easily turned her body and hit it back with amazing speed. Another one came to the other side, and she did the same thing with her backhand.

Her form was very consistent and solid, but she looked more graceful than anyone Ryoma had seen play. It was almost like she was dancing.

He watched in amazement as this quiet girl, who he had come to know as just hanging around the Regulars, was just as good at tennis as them.

He was speechless. How could he not tell she was this good? How had he never seen her play before?

He thought back and realized that none of the Regulars had seen her play before. They talked about playing with her, but other things always came up, like her and Sachi leaving for an exchange program in America.

Kyoko was done with the round of tennis balls, and walked over to a bench to drink water. She looked over and saw Ryoma outside the fence, close to the bench. Her face turned bright red. "R-ryoma?" she stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

He just stared at her, unable to speak.

"Where is everyone else?"

He composed himself, and started running away from the courts, leaving Kyoko momentarily to wonder what he was doing. He walked back with his tennis bag in his hand.

"Play me," he said.

"Huh!?" Kyoko asked, bewildered by a sudden challenge.

"Play me," he repeated.

"But…I don't…I mean…why?"

He wordlessly walked into the courts, onto the other side, and took out his racquet.

Kyoko watched him in confusion, wondering why he wanted to play her right then.

He looked up at her, and met her puzzled look with somewhat of a smile – it still looked like a nice smirk to her.

She realized he wanted to see which of them was better.

It was a challenge.

Did that mean he didn't already know?

_Impossible_, Kyoko thought to herself. _He's obviously better than me…I've seen him play…he's better than anyone I've ever seen._

Even though Kyoko was sure he was better than her, she could see the uncertainty in his eyes, as he approached the net.

She followed suit and walked up to meet him.

"Rough or smooth?" he asked, holding his racquet with the head on the ground.

"Smooth," Kyoko answered.

Ryoma spun the racquet and showed her the tip of the racquet. "It's smooth."

Kyoko knew it was going to be; she had never lost a racquet call in her life, for whatever reason, and she was glad to have the decision of whether she would go first or not.

"I'll serve first," she said.

Ryoma smirked. "Alright."

He started walking to the base line when Kyoko said, "Good luck…"

Ryoma turned to her. "I may need it…" she heard him mutter.

_So he really isn't sure which one of us is better… _Kyoko thought to herself, adrenaline racing through her veins. _Well, I can't win, but I'll give him a game worth his time._

She walked to the service line and bounced a tennis ball against the ground, waiting for Ryoma to position himself. When he was ready she called out, "Zero all, love all, first serve."

Then she threw up the ball, and the match began.


	31. How to Win His Heart

_**Chapter Thirty One: How to Win His Heart**_

"Come on, Oishi! If you don't hurry, we're going to miss it!" Eiji whined.

"Calm down, Eiji…how do you even know that's what they're doing?" Oishi inquired.

"Sachi said that Kyoko was practicing at this place, and Chibi-Chan left after he heard that. They _must _be there, playing a match."

"I guess that makes sense…but don't you think it's rude to barge in like this?"

"Barge in!? What are you talking about!? I'm sure they'll love some cheering!!"

"If you say so, Eiji…"

Eiji smiled at him and proudly continued leading the way to the courts.

* * *

"Thanks for saving me back there," Fuji said gratefully to Sachi as they were on their way to her house.

"Oh, that thing? No problem…they were annoying me, anyway," Sachi with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Fuji smiled. "I would've walked you home, anyway, though."

Sachi looked at him suspiciously. "Oh, really?"

"Well…yeah, I mean…you can't walk home by yourself…"

"Oh…"

"And I wanted to…" Fuji said a little quieter.

"You did?"

"Yeah…"

"Is it because we're friends?" Sachi asked.

"I would like to think we're closer than friends…"

"I guess we have spent a lot of time together."

Fuji nodded in agreement. "You're a lot of fun to hang out with…and…I was wondering…"

"Hey, is that Eiji?" Sachi suddenly asked, pointing to the other side of the street.

"Oh…yeah, and Oishi…but Sachi, what I was going to say was…"

"You can tell me after we find out what they're doing!" Sachi said, grabbing Fuji's hand and dragging him across the street.

Fuji would've protested, but he was too preoccupied in the fact Sachi was holding his hand.

* * *

"Forty-fifteen," Ryoma said, bouncing the tennis ball in front of him, getting ready to serve.

Kyoko gritted her teeth as she braced herself for his twist serve.

She had gotten used to where it'd go, but it still meant she had to move her feet a lot to get to it.

He hit the ball with so much power, as Kyoko moved and returned it, she wondered if he was getting faster and stronger, or if she was just getting slower and weaker.

Ryoma was already at the net and volleyed her return to the opposite side of the court that she was on.

She ran toward it, seeing if she could get it before it bounced a second time, but as she hit it, she framed it, causing it to lob.

Ryoma realized where it was going, and ran back to get it. He jumped up and smashed it on the side Kyoko was not on.

This time Kyoko sighed as she watched it get stuck in the fence behind her from the force.

"Game Echizen," Ryoma said with a smirk. "Looks like we're going into a tie-breaker."

"Six all, huh? This is fun," Kyoko said with a smile that made Ryoma fix his hat to hide his blush. "Let's get started!"

"Alright," Ryoma said, walking back to his side, Kyoko going to her own.

Kyoko wiped her face with the wrist bands on her wrists, and spun her racquet around her wrist, preparing for his serve.

This time he served with his left hand, making it much more powerful.

Kyoko figured he wanted to end this quickly, so she fought back just as hard. She hit the serve as hard as she could, and with as much accuracy as she could, into the right corner of the court.

Ryoma moved over to that side with his one footed split step and returned it to the opposite side of her.

She ran over and hit a drop shot slice, trying to make it hard for him to get to, and then she started for the net.

He ran up and barely got it, hitting it up over the net.

By that time, Kyoko was at the net, and used his shot as a lob, smashing it down precisely on the back line of his side of the court.

"One, zero," Kyoko said, smiling at Ryoma.

"Heh…you've still got a ways to go," Ryoma replied.

Kyoko simply smiled at him and walked toward the service line to serve.

She knew she had made Ryoma more focused than he had been at any other part of the game, and it would eventually lead to her losing.

But she was having fun and playing against him. That was all that mattered to her. She smiled as she got in position to serve.

* * *

"Eiji! Oishi!" Sachi exclaimed as she dragged Fuji behind her.

"Sachi!" Eiji exclaimed, giving her a hug.

"Didn't we just see you guys…?" Oishi asked.

"Shush Oishi," Sachi said. "Don't ruin it."

"Oh, sorry…"

"Where are you guys going?" Fuji asked.

"We're going to see Chibi-Chan and Kyoko play a match. But we have to hurry before we miss it!" Eiji explained.

"How do you know they're playing a match, Eiji?"

Eiji sighed. "I already explained this to Oishi. You guys just have to trust me!"

"…that's probably not the best thing to say, Eiji…" Oishi pointed out.

"What do you mean!?"

"You aren't good when it comes to trust," Sachi said. "You tell everyone the secrets other people entrusted you with."

"What!? When have I ever--"

"Eiji, we could come up with plenty of examples," Oishi said. "Don't make us list them all."

Eiji glared at them, but continued walking. "Oh, we're here. And look! It's Chibi-Chan! And there's Kyoko!"

"Wow, they really are playing a match. I guess you were right, Eiji," Oishi said.

Eiji nodded knowingly. "Of course I was right. You guys should learn to trust me more!"

"I wouldn't go that far, Eiji," Fuji said with a smile.

They watched as Ryoma scored what seemed to be the match point, and the two shook hands at the net and then walked over to their bags for water.

"Let's go congratulate Chibi-Chan!" Eiji exclaimed, making his way to the entrance of the courts.

* * *

"Good game," Kyoko said, drinking her water bottle.

"You, too…" Ryoma said quietly.

He put his racquet back in his bag, and took out his water bottle.

"Maybe if I would've had one of Sadaharu's many drinks, I could've won," Kyoko mused, laughing a little at the thought.

"But you can't play tennis while you're passed out on the courts," Ryoma pointed out.

"Hmm…that's true…"

"Actually, his newest drink doesn't do anything to you…" Ryoma said, remembering that Sachi had drunk his sea-green drink back at Takashi's place and had not had any side effects. "Sachi had some and nothing happened."

"Well, maybe she's like Fuji in their ability to withstand the drinks…"

Ryoma shook his head. "I think the side effects will just take a while to work."

"I hope it's nothing bad, though…"

"I think Momo is thinking the exact opposite."

Kyoko laughed. "Probably. Those two bicker like brother and sister…or an old married couple."

Ryoma nodded.

"So, why did you want to play a match, anyway?" Kyoko asked.

"Because…I've never seen you play…"

"Did you actually think I could beat you, Ryoma? I mean, honestly, you're the best player I've ever seen. Years ahead of me."

Ryoma shook his head. "I'm not that much better than you…"

"You really are…but I hope we can play a match again sometime. Even though I lost, it was a lot of fun."

Ryoma gave her a genuine smile. "I'd like that, too."

The two heard someone gasp loudly, and they turned to see Eiji, with big eyes, pointing at Ryoma. "Chibi-Chan is giving her a real smile! Not a smirk! But a _smile_!"

Kyoko noticed Sachi, Oishi and Fuji were behind Eiji, all smiling at them.

"Calm down, Eiji…" Oishi said.

"But he _never _smiles like that! He's always so cocky," Sachi pointed out. "It's almost like getting Tezuka to smile!"

Eiji nodded in agreement. "But that one really is impossible. Getting Chibi-Chan to smile is just very difficult."

Ryoma just stared at them, rolling his eyes. Kyoko smiled at him.

"So, what was the score?" Fuji asked. "We only saw the last shot."

"It was…5-7. I lost in a tiebreak 3-7," Kyoko said with a smile.

"Whaaat? That's so close, though!" Eiji exclaimed. "Chibi, is she really that good?"

"Me? Oh no…Ryoma was just going easy on me," Kyoko said quickly.

"She is very good Eiji-Sempai," Ryoma contradicted.

"Now he's _complimenting _her!?" Eiji exclaimed. "What is this!? You've never complimented me before!"

Ryoma smirked at him. "Give me something to compliment then, Eiji-Sempai."

Eiji's mouth flew wide open as he stared at Ryoma in disbelief.

Kyoko laughed. "He's just kidding, Eiji."

"He'd better be…" Eiji said, starting to walk away. He turned and looked at Ryoma over his shoulder. "Watch your back Chibi-Chan."

"E-Eiji, wait up!" Oishi called out as he ran after him.

"Okay, well I want to go home now. Fuji, will you walk me to Eiji's house?" Sachi asked.

"Of course, Sachi," Fuji said with a smile.

"So, what were you saying earlier?" Sachi asked. "You said I was a lot of fun to hang out with – which everyone knows – and then you said you were wondering something…"

"Oh…well…"

After that Sachi and Fuji's conversation was out of Kyoko's earshot, and she wished she was walking with them so she could hear them.

"Aw, they're so cute together," Kyoko said, watching Sachi and Fuji walk away.

"They're both insane, so they make a good match," Ryoma agreed.

Kyoko laughed. "I just think their personalities go well together."

"I don't see it…I think yours and mine go together much better."

Kyoko could feel her face burn. "You think?"

"Well, yeah…"

Kyoko smiled. "I think so, too."

"I think it's time for us to go home. I'll walk you home."

"Oh, you don't have to…"

"I insist."

"Well, okay…" Kyoko said reluctantly, putting her stuff back in her bag. "Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it," Ryoma said, standing up.

As they made their way to Kyoko's house, they took turns recalling specific shots during their tennis match, whether it was a shot they did, or the other one did.

They finally made it to Kyoko's house, and Kyoko smiled at Ryoma. "Thank you very much for today. It was a lot of fun. We only have two days left before school starts, and I'm glad we got to play a game before then."

"Same here," Ryoma said. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Before Kyoko could turn to her door, Ryoma leaned closer and kissed her cheek, leaving Kyoko dazed and blushing madly.

Ryoma smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Y-yeah…you, t-too…"

Ryoma gave her one last look and then started toward his own house.

Kyoko stood there for several moments, not moving. She felt her cheeks burning from her blush, and, once she realized she had been standing out there for five minutes, she rushed into her house and shut the door.

She set her stuff down and ran into the bathroom to wash her face with cold water, trying to control the burning of her face.

_What happened…? _She thought to herself.

But she couldn't focus long enough to come up with a good answer; the only thing her mind kept telling her was that she was happy.

And that was enough for her.


	32. Videogames and Prank Calls

**_Chapter Thirty Two: Videogames and Prank Calls_**

Kyoko woke the next morning to find herself on her couch downstairs.

She thought back to the events last night, and suddenly blushed, remembering the kiss Ryoma had given her.

Her cell phone rang, and she looked at it, realizing it was Sachi calling her.

"Hello?" Kyoko said, sitting upright on the couch.

"Hey, Kyoko. I heard about what happened last night and…no, Eiji, you cannot talk to her…I don't care, I'm talking to her…Eiji!!"

"Kyoko-Chaaaaaan! You and Chibi-Chan, huh?" Eiji's voice came through the phone. "I always knew it! …ow!"

"Sorry, Kyoko," Sachi said, obviously having taken the phone back.

"That hurt, Sachi! You didn't have to hit my head that hard! How would you like it if I hit you on the head!?"

"You wouldn't if you wanted to stay alive."

Kyoko could almost see Sachi's glare challenging Eiji to make a move, and she smiled a little at the thought.

"Here, I'll put you on speaker phone so we both can talk to you…anyway, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go school shopping today? School starts tomorrow, after all," Sachi said.

"Oh, sure! Have you invited the Regulars yet?"

"No, you're the first one I've mentioned it to. I thought we could split up the phone calls to let everyone know."

"What!? Shopping?! How boooooring! Unless we go to a pet store!" Eiji said.

"How would that be considered school shopping?" Kyoko inquired.

"I don't know…but we could buy some really cute puppies to walk to class…or a bunny could hop around class…or a snake to tease Viper with!!"

"First things first, Eiji. We need clothes," Sachi said.

"But I don't want to shop for girls clothes all day," Eiji whined.

"It won't be all day. And maybe we can go to a tennis store later," Kyoko suggested.

"Yeah! I need new grip tape!" Eiji exclaimed, suddenly happy about the trip. "I'll call Fuji!"

"Oh, speaking of Fuji, what were you guys talking about after you left the courts, Sachi?" Kyoko asked.

"Huh? Oh…I don't know. He said he was wondering something, but then I saw Eiji and after that he wouldn't tell me what he was wondering. I tried to get him to tell me, but he wouldn't," Sachi said with a sigh.

"Wait, is Eiji listening?"

"Nah, he's over there talking to Fuji."

"Okay, well, I think maybe he likes you…"

"Fuji?"

"Yeah…I mean, didn't you get that vibe?"

I could almost see Sachi shrug. "I guess…"

"Do you like him?"

Sachi paused. "I don't know…"

"Maybe you should give that some thought."

"Give what some thought!?" Kyoko heard Eiji exclaim.

"None of your business, Eiji."

Kyoko heard a thump, to which Eiji screamed, "Don't hit me with my own bear!"

"Okay, well, you call Tezuka, Sadaharu, and…Ryoma," Sachi said.

"That means you'll have to call Momo, Sachi!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Who said we were inviting him?" Sachi asked.

"Hmm…good point…"

"We should probably invite him, just to watch him fight with Kaidoh."

"Would you like me to call him, Sachi?" Kyoko offered.

"No, I'll do it," Sachi said. "I bet we can turn this into something fun…Eiji and I will come to your house when we're done with our calls. See you in a bit!"

"Alright, bye Sachi. Bye Eiji," Kyoko said with a smile as she pressed end on her phone.

She dialled Sadaharu's number first, knowing talking to him would be the easiest. The phone rang, and Sadaharu picked up.

"Good morning, Kyoko," he said.

"Good morning Sadaharu," Kyoko replied.

"I assume you're calling me to let me know the plans for today? A shopping trip perhaps?"

Kyoko laughed. "I guess I didn't need to call you after all."

"Well, it's always good to have data confirmed, even if the percentage is absolute. I will see you as well as everyone downtown in approximately two hours and forty five minutes. Have a good rest of the morning."

"You, too, Sadaharu. See you then."

"There is a one hundred percent chance you will."

With that Sadaharu hung up, leaving Kyoko to wonder if he ever got tired of talking like that.

The next phone call was a little trickier. She dialled Tezuka's number, and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" she heard Tezuka say on the other line.

"Hey, Tezuka, this is Kyoko. We're getting the group together to go school shopping, would you like to come along?" Kyoko asked.

"'We're'?"

"Oh, Sachi and I. We figured since school starts tomorrow, it'll be good to get anything we may have forgotten…or something…" Kyoko said, becoming a little flustered.

"Oh, well there are a few things I do need to pick up. So sure, I'll go with you. Where do we all meet?"

"Um, according to Sadaharu, we're meeting downtown in two hours and forty five minutes…"

"So Inui made up the plans?"

Kyoko giggled. "I guess you could say that."

There was a pause. "So…I guess I'll see you there in two hours and forty five minutes," Tezuka said.

"Alright, bye Tezuka," Kyoko said.

"Bye Kyoko."

Kyoko waited for him to hang up first, as she always did when she talked with people on the phone, but she noticed there was another pause before she heard him sigh and hang up.

She looked at her phone in confusion as the call ended, but shrugged it off as something she was making a big deal out of.

Last, but not least, she was to call Ryoma.

She dialled his number, and held her breath as it rang.

"Hello?" she heard Ryoma say.

Her heart began to beat faster as she quickly composed herself. "Hey, Ryoma, it's Kyoko. Today Sachi and I are getting everyone together to go do some school shopping, in preparation for tomorrow, and we were wondering if you could make it," Kyoko said as smoothly as she could.

She hoped Ryoma couldn't tell she was embarrassed.

"School shopping? Like for supplies and stuff?"

"Yeah, Eiji wanted to go to the tennis store, too. And the pet store, but that one's still up in the air."

"I've barely done any of my school shopping," Ryoma realized. "I've been so focused on tennis…"

"Well, it makes sense. Tennis is an important part of your life, so it makes sense you'd be preoccupied with it. Don't worry, I've still got a lot to get, as well," Kyoko assured him.

"Okay…when is everyone meeting and where?"

"Two hours and forty five minutes in downtown."

"Alright, so I'll see you a little bit before then when I come to pick you up."

"Pick me up? But Sachi and Eiji are coming over here in a bit and—"

"I'll just beat them there I guess."

She could almost see his smile as he knew she wouldn't complain.

"Well…alright…seeing as you won't be late, I guess that's acceptable…" she said, knowing he knew she was just using that as an excuse.

"I will see you in a bit," Ryoma said. "Try to keep yourself safe until then."

"I don't know…my cat is looking pretty dangerous over here. She might attack me before you can get here," Kyoko said in a sarcastic tone, looking at her cat who looked up at her curiously.

"Looks like the time I'll be there in just shortened by ten minutes."

"We'll see," Kyoko said. "Try to keep _yourself_ safe on the walk over here."

"I'll do my best. See you in a few," Ryoma said.

"Alright, bye," Kyoko replied.

She hung up the phone, and realized she was nowhere near getting ready. She jumped up from the couch and sprinted toward the bathroom to get her makeup and hair ready, and thanked the heavens she had taken a shower the night before.

Her room was neat and orderly which made it easy for her to find an outfit in no time at all. She decided on a light blue blouse and a pair of normal blue jeans.

She put a clip that matched her shirt's color in her hair just as the door bell rang.

She checked her reflection in the mirror once more before walking toward the door, her heart loudly pounding in her chest.

She opened the door and Ryoma stood there. He smiled as she greeted him. "Hello, Ryoma. Come inside."

"Thanks…" Ryoma walked in and stood in her living room awkwardly.

"Please, sit down," Kyoko said.

He did as instructed, and sat down on the couch as she sat down on the chair across from the couch.

"Did you already eat breakfast?" she asked casually.

"Yeah, my mom made Western style breakfast this morning. I bet you had a lot of that when you went to America," Ryoma said.

Kyoko nodded her head as she recalled her trip with Sachi. "I liked the French toast they made me. Very delicious."

Ryoma gave her a little smile and noticed her television was on. The screen said the word 'PAUSE', and a game system was hooked up to it. "What were you playing?" he asked.

"Huh?" Kyoko asked, looking over and noticing the same thing. "Oh, I was playing a lame tennis game on it. The graphics are decent, but the characters aren't very good. I guess I forgot to turn it off yesterday."

"Do you want to play until Eiji and Sachi get here?"

"Challenging me to _another _match, huh? Alright, but this time the outcome will be different," Kyoko said confidently.

"We'll see," Ryoma simply replied as the two got up and grabbed their own controllers.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Is your refrigerator running?"

"Yeah, I think so…why?"

"Because you better go catch it!"

"What do you mean—"

_Click._

Momo was getting tired of the prank calls he had received in the last ten minutes. "Who keeps calling me!?" he exclaimed to himself as he sat in his room.

To his dismay his phone rang again. "WHAT!?"

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING!?" he heard Sachi yell back.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?" Momo asked.

"What was that all about?" Sachi demanded.

"I just got a bunch of random prank calls, and…" he paused to hear Eiji snickering in the background. "It was you two! Why are you bothering me!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sachi said in a controlled voice. "Anyway, we're going downtown for school supplies, but I can see you don't want to go…"

"No, I need the school supplies! I'll see you guys there after a while. Bye," he said before hanging up.

Sachi slapped Eiji upside the head. "We could've gotten away with it, Eiji!"

Eiji tried to dodge it, but she barely got him. "Hey…he would've found out eventually…"

"I doubt it," Sachi persisted. "Now go get ready. We have to go get Kyoko."

"_You're _the one that takes forever to get ready."

"Only because you hog up the bathroom for so long, brushing your teeth."

"That only takes a couple minutes! Your hair and makeup…and everything else takes _for-ev-er!_"

Sachi shrugged. "It takes some time to look as beautiful as I do," she said, getting up and walking toward the bathroom.

"You look exactly the same after you put all your makeup on!!! AHH!!" Eiji said, dramatically tugging at his hair.

* * *

"Nice shot…" Kyoko complimented. "But don't underestimate me."

There was a pause as they continued playing out the point.

"You didn't see that one coming," Ryoma said.

Another pause.

"Ha! The game is mine," Kyoko cheered.

Ryoma smirked. "My guys is just too slow. The set will be mine."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"So…are you excited for school to start?" Ryoma asked as they played.

"Um, no, not really. I don't even know what class I'm in…"

"I think you're in Fuji-Sempai, and Eiji-Sempai's class, like you and Sachi have been for the past couple years."

"Oh, okay. That'll be nice to know people in there," Kyoko said. "Are you excited for school?"

"All the homework and class time takes away from my tennis time," Ryoma said. "And I have to deal with those two girls…"

"Pigtails and loudmouth, yeah," Kyoko nodded in understanding. "Of course you'll have to worry about girls bothering you. You are one of the Regulars, after all."

Ryoma paused. Whether it was because he didn't want to talk about it, or he hadn't thought about it, Kyoko wasn't sure.

"I guess it's because I'm single," Ryoma said slowly.

This time Kyoko paused, trying to find the right words. "Yeah, that makes sense. They think they have a chance with you," Kyoko said with a laugh.

Ryoma looked at her. "They think? So they don't?"

"Do they?" Kyoko challenged his gaze.

Ryoma smiled. "Nope. Because I already have someone in mind."

Kyoko's heart skipped a beat. "Oh you do, huh?"

"Yeah…but I think I'll wait a little longer before I say anything to her."

"Well, good luck with that…"

"I don't think I'll need luck."

"What do you mean?"

Ryoma said nothing and turned his attention back to the game.

"Your serve," he said, glancing at her with a mischievous grin.

She smiled back, trying to control the butterflies in her stomach. "Alright, get ready…"


	33. Puppy Sweaters

**_A/N: Towards the end Tezuka says "Now you know how it feels", while talking to Ryoma. He was referring to the fact that in Saffy's story, Sachi (Rei) made him put a pink princess tiara on. ^^_**

* * *

**_Chapter Thirty Three: Puppy Sweaters_**

"You took forever, Sachi! We're late!" Eiji exclaimed as they made their way to Kyoko's house.

"I didn't say we'd be there in a certain amount of minutes, so we can't be late," Sachi replied. "Plus, we still have over an hour to make it downtown."

Eiji ignored her and continued whining. "Poor Kyoko-Chan is probably waiting for us all alone! How could you do that to her!?"

"I didn't do anything to her!"

"Tell that to the lonely Kyoko-Chan," he said as he rang the doorbell.

They could hear Kyoko excuse herself, and walk toward the door. When she opened the door, she was met with suspicious looks from Eiji and Sachi.

"Who's here, Kyoko-Chan?" Eiji asked.

"Huh? Oh, Ryoma and I are playing a videogame. Please, come in," Kyoko said, opening the door wider for them as they took off their shoes.

"Eh!? Videogames! Chibi!" Eiji exclaimed as he ran into the living room.

"What videogame?" Sachi asked.

"It's a tennis game," Kyoko said.

Sachi rolled her eyes. "Should've guessed. It can't be that exciting…"

Kyoko just smiled; she didn't think the game was that fun, either, but just playing it with Ryoma made it fun.

She and Kyoko made their way to the living room, and found Eiji playing a match with Ryoma.

"Eiji," Sachi said sternly. "We need to go shopping now."

"Yeah…uh-huh…" Eiji said, not paying attention to Sachi. "Darn! Lucky shot, Chibi! My serve now."

Ryoma smirked.

"Eiji…" Kyoko said, shaking her head. "You don't want to get Sachi mad…"

Eiji made no reply, keeping his focus on the game.

Sachi marched over and stood in front of the television, blocking Eiji and Ryoma's view of their game.

"Hey!" Eiji protested, trying to push her out of the way. "We're busy, Sachi!"

"I guess we'll just leave them here, Kyoko," Sachi said walking back toward the front door. "I guess Eiji doesn't want to go get a puppy!"

"Puppy!?" Eiji exclaimed, jumping up. "Wait for me, Sachi!"

Ryoma turned off the game and walked over to Kyoko. "Shall we?"

Kyoko nodded her head as they followed Sachi and Eiji out of her house, locking it behind her.

* * *

"So, you called everyone, right?" Kyoko asked as they made their way downtown.

Sachi nodded her head. "Even Momo."

Eiji snickered in his palm. Kyoko looked at him in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"We prank called him before we told him about it," Sachi explained matter-of-factly.

Kyoko smiled. "That's much more entertaining than just calling him."

Sachi nodded. "He didn't think so, but he's going because he hasn't gone school shopping at all. It's just like him to put it off until the last minute."

"Do you have any of your school supplies, Sachi?" Eiji asked.

Sachi paused to glare at Eiji. "That doesn't matter."

"So, we can go to the pet store after, right Sachi?" Eiji asked.

"I don't know…" she said, thoughtfully tapping her chin.

Eiji stared at her with big, puppy dog-looking eyes.

Sachi laughed. "Yeah, we'll go. I have to pick up some more dog food for Bombaclot. Your sister called a bit ago and said she just gave him the last bit of it."

"Yay~!" Eiji exclaimed, jumping up and happily.

Ryoma leaned to Kyoko. "Hopefully Sachi won't scare little kids again like she did last time…"

Kyoko laughed. "That was really funny, though. Well, for us anyway. I bet that kid doesn't even remember it," she assured him.

The downtown area was very crowded, and Kyoko figured all the students walking around were getting their school shopping done as well. Half the year took a lot of supplies up.

And, for Sachi and Kyoko, they needed all new ones, because they used theirs when they went to America.

"It's so crowded! How are we going to find anyone!?" Eiji exclaimed.

"Ah, according to my data you all would be here."

The group jumped as Sadaharu joined their group. Behind him were Oishi and Kaidoh.

"Where did you all come from!?" Eiji yelled as he held his chest to recover from the shock.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "We came from our houses, of course."

"Hey Sadaharu. Oishi. Kaidoh," Kyoko greeted them. "Everyone will be able to find us easier now that we have a larger group."

"Precisely. That is why I went to get Oishi and Kaidoh from their houses before I came here. It seems you've done the same thing," Sadaharu said.

"I guess we did…" Kyoko said mystified.

"I just talked to Tezuka and he should be here any moment," Oishi announced. "And Takashi said he had to work at his sushi place today, so he won't be joining us, but we're welcome to go over there after we're done."

"Alright! Puppies and sushi! This is awesome!" Eiji cheered.

"Puppies…?" Oishi inquired.

"Yeah! We're going to the pet store after shopping!"

"Who decided that?"

"According to my calculations, Sachi needs more food for her dog, so she agreed to take Eiji to the pet store," Sadaharu reported.

Eiji stared at him with big eyes. "How does he do that?!" he exclaimed.

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "Data," he said simply.

"Hello."

The group turned and saw Tezuka had joined their group.

"Hey Tezuka," Kyoko greeted him. "Glad you could make it."

"Took you long enough, Kun-Kun," Sachi said, wagging her finger at him.

"Sorry…?" Tezuka said.

"You should be."

"Let's hurry up! The puppies are waiting for me!" Eiji exclaimed, grabbing Sachi's arm and pulling her forward.

Kyoko counted everyone, and noticed there was still someone missing. "Oh, we still have to wait for Momo," she said.

"Since when?" Sachi asked. "It's his fault for being late if we leave."

"Yeah! The puppies wait for no man!" Eiji exclaimed.

Just then Momo ran up to the group. "Hey guys," he said.

"Late," Eiji and Sachi said in synch, pointing accusingly at him.

"What!? I'm not late! I'm right on time!" he exclaimed, pointing at his watch.

"According to my time, you're late," Sachi argued.

"Well, I'm not going by your time!"

"Everyone is going by my time."

Momo sighed. "Can we just go now?"

"Wow, that was pretty mature, Momo-Sempai," Ryoma pointed out.

Momo looked up at him and smiled. "Heh, you think? Well, I have been getting a little more adult like lately…"

"Aren't you the one who said not to dangle the carrot in front of the donkey, Chibi!?" Eiji exclaimed.

"Hey! Who are you calling a donkey?!" Momo exclaimed.

"Now, now…calm down you guys…we don't want you to run around and end up running into people. It's crowded here," Oishi said.

"Let's go before Mom keeps yelling at us," Ryoma said with a smirk.

The group laughed and walked into the mall.

"I haven't been to a mall in forever…the ones in America are so much different," Kyoko said, looking around. "I missed all of these floors…"

"Do they only have one floor in America?" Momo asked jokingly.

Kyoko nodded. "Sometimes they'd have two or maybe even three, but that's rare for where we went," she said, to which Momo opened his mouth in surprise.

"You two never did tell us that much about your stay in America," Oishi pointed out.

Sachi shrugged. "Not much to tell."

"You stay in America for _six months_ and there's _'not much to tell'_?!" Momo exclaimed.

"Well, there's a lot of really big white people, and some really skinny white people, actually we did see some other Japanese people, too, but they were boring so I didn't talk to them. And…the schools suck, and they go to _different_ classes each period, instead of staying in the same room with different teachers walking in. And…for lunch Kyoko had hamburgers, but since I'm a vegetarian, I ate some veggies and fish. And…there's a lot of lack of respect there for old people, and more respectable people. I had to show a lot of classmates who their Sempai was," she said with a mischievous smile. "And…that's all I can remember right now. Got anything to add, Kyoko?"

"They don't take care of their tennis courts like they do here," she said, thinking back. "And the people are nice. I stayed with a really nice family, who had a daughter and a son. Sachi stayed with a family with two sons and two daughters."

"Psh, they can't catch up to my family," Eiji said proudly.

"Yeah, my family was pretty cool. The guys weren't bad looking, and they liked videogames, so we played a lot. They didn't even get mad that I beat them!"

"But, Sachi, when you told me this story, you said they always beat you…"

Sachi hit Eiji upside the head. "You must have heard me wrong. Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted…" Sachi started. "The daughters weren't too bad, but one studied all the time, and the other one wouldn't shut up about her makeup and purses and shoes. I was going to shoot her by the end."

"We can go back and take care of her!" Eiji suggested.

"Eiji…that's illegal…" Oishi said.

"It's only illegal if you get caught." Eiji glanced at him with a small, cunning smile, to which Oishi shook his head sadly.

"Was the son you stayed with nice, too?" Ryoma asked Kyoko quietly.

"Um, yeah, he was nice…"

"Especially to you, huh, Kyoko?" Sachi said smiling.

"Ooh, sounds like someone's got a story to tell!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Huh? No, there's no story to tell…he was just nice..."

"He walked her to all her classes, and made her lunches for her, and kind of stalked her…it creeped me out."

"Well, he didn't do anything bad, so I didn't feel the need to be mean to him…so, there isn't a story, Eiji."

Eiji looked at her suspiciously. "I still think there's a story there…and I'll find it if it's the last thing I—look Sachi! Those shirts over there have puppies on them! I want one!" he exclaimed, running over a few aisles.

"Eiji's attention span is so short…" Oishi said, as everyone but Kyoko and Ryoma followed him.

Kyoko smiled. "Eiji's funny…" she said, turning to Ryoma, who looked distracted. "What's wrong Ryoma?"

"Huh? Oh…nothing…" he said quietly. "So, tell me about this guy. What was his name?"

"John. Why?"

"Did you like John?"

"No, he was like a brother to me. A host brother is what they call him for exchange students. It wasn't anything at all," Kyoko said, watching his expression carefully. "But why would that matter?"

Kyoko knew what she wanted him to say, but she wasn't sure if it was realistic. She didn't know what he was thinking.

"Because…" he started, looking awkwardly at the ground. "Well…"

"Hey Chibi-Chan! Get over here to try on this doggie sweater!! They have an extra small!"

Kyoko looked over at Eiji who was holding up a very small sweater with a dog on it, and laughed. She turned back to Ryoma, whose face was flushed.

She wasn't sure if it was because of Eiji's sudden outburst, or because of what he was trying to say.

"Go on," Kyoko prompted. It was killing her not knowing what he was going to say.

Then Ryoma composed himself and smirked at her. "Tell you what. I'll tell you tonight, over ramen?"

Kyoko's face lit up. "That sounds great!"

"And I'll still get you home in plenty of time. We do have school tomorrow, after all."

"Oh, of course," Kyoko agreed. She was trying to control her excitement.

"Alright, then it's a date," he said, with a smirk.

"It's a date," she agreed, happily saying the last word.

"CHI-BI-CHAN!" the two looked over to see Eiji fuming.

"Coming Eiji-Sempai," Ryoma said, leading Kyoko over to where the rest of the group was.

The moment Ryoma was by them, Eiji snatched his hat, and shoved the sweater with the dog over his head and put it on him. He placed his hat back on and turned to Fuji.

"Now Fuji!" Eiji instructed, pointing to Fuji, who took out his camera and got a quick snapshot of Ryoma.

"Now you know how it feels," Tezuka said bitterly.

"That'll be a keeper," Fuji said with a smile.

Ryoma glared at Fuji as Eiji patted his head. "If anyone besides this group sees that picture, Fuji, there will be consequences."

"Ryoma, you're too short to be threatening," Sachi pointed out.

"I think you look cute," Kyoko said with a smile.

Ryoma pulled his hat over his eyes, embarrassed, but the smile Kyoko gave him was genuine. He was glad she called him cute.


	34. Chibi's Princess

**_Chapter Thirty Four: Chibi's Princess_**

As the rest of the mall trip went on, Kyoko wished it would move more quickly; she wanted to get to the ramen place with Ryoma as soon as possible.

But it seemed to her everyone was stalling on purpose. If it took long enough, they'd have to postpone it because of school the next day. She had to make sure this didn't happen.

The group made their way into a store which had everything one could imagine – from pencils and pens that matched the small bags above them, to random hair accessories that seemed to have no place near the office supplies. There were pottery items, clothing sections, a food aisle, and many, many people crowding around to get the items that were on sale.

Somehow through this chaos, Kyoko noticed that everything was actually organized, but at first glance you would've never realized it.

"Wow! Look at all the stuff!" Eiji exclaimed, looking around in awe. "Chibi! We'd better hold hands so you don't get lost!"

Ryoma opened his mouth to protest, but Eiji grabbed his hand and pulled him into the crowd before he got a chance to.

"Eiji! Don't hurt him!" Oishi exclaimed, running in after him.

"Well, I've got to go look for pencils and pens before I forget. You coming Fuji?" Sachi asked, turning to him.

Fuji smiled and nodded. "Of course."

The two walked off as Sadaharu pushed up his glasses and observed the area. "I believe from this flier, I get a free glass cleaner for my glasses if I show them this," he said, taking out a piece of paper and examining it. "Yes, here it is."

With that he walked over to the section with the glass cleaner, as Kaidoh made his way to the bandana section.

That left Kyoko, Tezuka and Momo looking around awkwardly.

"So…what are you two looking for?" Momo asked casually.

"Notebook paper, some journals and a few pens and pencils," Tezuka said.

"I need that and more," Momo muttered.

There was a pause, and Tezuka and Momo turned to look curiously at Kyoko. She thought a moment, trying to remember what she needed.

"I need…oh! A school bag! And…a couple more things for my school uniform. They're giving Sachi and me different uniforms this year because we did the exchange program, though I don't understand why," Kyoko said with a shrug. "So now I have to get accessories that match it. I guess the new ones look better than the old ones; these new ones are black and red, while the other ones were a bright green, but we'll still look like outsiders with the random new colors…"

Tezuka and Momo listened and stared at Kyoko with what seemed like very little interest.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to babble like that! You can find your things now!" she exclaimed, bowing in apology.

"There's no reason to be sorry…" Tezuka said.

Momo laughed. "You apologize too much. Go find your things," he said. "Just be careful! Sachi's lurking around here…"

He slowly backed away, disappearing in the crowd. Tezuka gave an audible sigh. Kyoko looked at him curiously, but he just gave her a blank stare in return.

"Well, good luck finding your things!" she said giving him a smile.

"You, too…" he said before walking off.

"Now…school bags…school bags…" Kyoko said, looking around.

She found a counter full of bags of all sizes; she began to look through them and tried to decide which one she liked best. There were two that would match her new uniform perfectly, and she couldn't decide. They were both black, one a bit bigger than the other.

Figuring the one that would hold the most books would be better, she finally decided on that one, and made her way to the accessories section, which was on the other side of the store. While she walked over there, she wondered how everyone else was doing.

* * *

Over at the stationary and pens/pencils section, Momo and Sachi bickered over who was in whose way.

"I was here first," Sachi pointed out, standing in front of him.

Momo grabbed her shoulders and moved her to the side. "But I'm more important."

Sachi snorted. "You're the only person who thinks you are. Everyone else _knows _I'm much more important. I mean just look at me!" she said putting her hands on her hips and posing. "Perfection!"

Momo snickered. "Maybe in your dreams. But in real life, it's obviously me," he said as he ran his fingers through his short black hair.

"How about these, Sachi?" Fuji asked, showing her a small box full of pens. "They're black and purple. You like those colors."

"Huh? Oh right…pens…" Sachi said, turning to Fuji to examine the pens closely. "Yeah, I like those. Thanks!"

She gave Fuji a quick hug, then took his hand and dragged him over to the paper section. Before they walked around the corner, she turned back to Momo saying, "I'm beating you!"

Momo glared at her. "Not for long!" he said, and then turned his attention back to the pens, quickly trying to pick out some pens for himself so he could catch up to Sachi.

* * *

"I don't know which one to get, Chibi!" Eiji said, looking at two different notebooks with puppies on them. "This black one looks cute, but this white one looks just as cute!"

"Eiji…it's not a life or death decision," Oishi pointed out.

Ryoma sighed and adjusted his hat. They were taking too long, and Ryoma wanted to be over by Kyoko.

"Hey, Eiji-Sempai, you should get the one with both of them on it," he said, picking up one with both of the puppies on it.

Eiji gasped and snatched it out of Ryoma's hands. "Perfect! Nice find, O-Chibi!"

Ryoma smirked. "Okay…well, now that you're done with that, let's move onto somewhere else…"

Eiji shook his head. "Nu-uh, not yet. I still need several more!" he said, turning and examining another counter full of notebooks.

Ryoma glanced around, looking for a way to escape. "Okay…while you're looking for that, I'll be over getting my things…"

"What things?" Eiji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Stuff…?"

"Like?"

"It's a…surprise, Eiji-Sempai…for you…you wouldn't want to ruin it, would you?"

Eiji's eyes lit up. "A surprise?! Oh, Chibi! You shouldn't have!" he said, giving him a big hug. "What are you waiting for?! Go on!"

Ryoma gratefully took the opportunity and left the aisle, in search of Kyoko. He found her looking at hair accessories in another area. She had two clips in her hand: one was a round clip with a red crown and black background, and the other one had a black tennis racquet and a red background. She looked undecidedly at them, concentrating on the positives and negatives of both.

He stayed back and watched her from a distance, deciding when the right time to 'happen' to walk up to her would be.

Suddenly he saw Sachi and Fuji walk up to her. Sachi and her exchanged several words and Kyoko put the clips down and followed them over to the clothes section.

Ryoma waited until they were out of sight before he walked over and picked up the clips she was looking out. He examined them before taking them, as well as the things he had already gotten for school, to the cashier and paying for them. On his way there, he found a small pen with a dog on it and grabbed it, too, for Eiji; he knew he'd be expecting something.

He smiled as the cashier put the clips in the bag; he hoped Kyoko would like them.

After thanking the cashier, he took his bag, and went to find someone else in the group so he could tag along until it was time to leave.

The first person he came upon was Tezuka, so he walked up to see how he was doing.

"Oh, Echizen. You already finished?" Tezuka asked, eyeing the bag in Ryoma's hands.

Ryoma nodded. "Yes."

"What did you get?"

"A few notebooks, pens and pencils…stuff like that."

"May I see?"

Ryoma hesitantly gave him the bag he had, and Tezuka examined one of the notebooks before placing it back in. Just as he was about to hand him back the bag, he noticed the small clips at the bottom. "Have you taken an interest in hair accessories?" he asked.

Ryoma glared at him and snatched his bag back. "They're not for me."

Tezuka was drawn aback by this, but remained composed. "Oh, Kyoko, then."

Ryoma just stared at him, saying nothing.

The two awkwardly stood in silence.

"Well, I have all that I need," Tezuka said. "I'll go pay, and then we can find everyone else."

He silently lead Ryoma to the front, where he paid the cashier, then the two found Oishi, Eiji, Kaidoh and Sadaharu who already got what they needed as well.

Kyoko just finished paying for her items and, when she joined the group, had three bags full of things.

"You got so much, Kyoko!" Eiji exclaimed, pointing at her bags.

Kyoko blushed. "I know…there was a lot I needed to get. I had to get all new supplies since I couldn't use the same ones I did in America…"

She stepped forward and looked around for Sachi and Momo.

Suddenly the two came rushing toward the cashier, arms full of their things. They shoved each other out of the way, trying to get the advantage of getting in line first.

They both made it to the desk at the same time, and plopped down their things on the counter.

"A tie!?" they both exclaimed, glaring at each other.

The cashier looked at them a little frightened as they began arguing over who would go first. Fuji walked over to the group, watching them bicker.

"Those two…" he said with a smile.

"That poor cashier," Kyoko said.

"Someone calm them down…" Oishi said.

Eiji laughed. "This is better than a movie! I need some popcorn"

Sadaharu walked over to them, and pushed up his glasses. "According to my calculations…" he said, flipping through his notebook. "Sachi was three point two five seconds ahead of Momo. Therefore, she should go first."

Sachi did a fist pump, and then turned to laugh at Momo, who was shocked at Sadaharu's intrusion.

"Now out of my way!" she said, pushing Momo out of her way. "Ladies first."

The cashier tallied up all of Sachi's things, and she paid for them. Momo went next, and when everyone made sure they had everything, the group walked out of the store.

"Yay! We're all ready for school!" Eiji exclaimed but his smile disappeared as he said the last word. "NO! School!! We have school tomorrow!!"

Fuji put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Sachi, Kyoko and I are in your class, so we can keep you company."

Eiji gasped. "That's right! I'm excited!" he exclaimed as he high fived Sachi.

Kyoko smiled. "I just hope we haven't missed a lot while we were gone."

"If you did, Eiji-Sempai probably won't be any help. I bet he doesn't even pay attention in class," Ryoma said, smirking at Eiji.

Fuji smiled. "He does seem to get a lot of notes from me…"

"Hey! I pay attention! …sometimes! When I'm not sleeping! Or looking out the window…or looking at that cute girl that sits three desks over…" Eiji rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "I guess I don't pay attention a lot…"

"Eiji!" Sachi said, hitting Eiji with a notebook in her bag. "You can't slack off!"

"I'm sorry! I'll do better! I promise!"

Sachi nodded with approval. "Good."

"Now where to?" Oishi asked.

"Pet store! Pet store!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Eiji and I need to go to the pet store," Sachi said, to which Fuji said he wanted to tag along.

"I need to go to the tennis store," Tezuka said.

Oishi, Momo, and Sadaharu also needed to go to the tennis store, while Kaidoh needed to go for a run. Kyoko and Ryoma said they had other plans, seeing as it was already getting late, and everyone said their goodbyes until the next day at school.

* * *

Kyoko and Ryoma agreed to drop their things off at Kyoko's house, which was closer, then go get ramen. Ryoma would pick up his things on the way back to his own house.

After they did, they made their way to get ramen.

It wasn't dark outside yet, but everything had an orange tint to it as the sun was beginning to set.

Ryoma ordered for Kyoko and himself, and they talked while they ate their food.

"So what kind of stuff did you buy?" Kyoko asked before slurping up some noodles.

"Um…I got some notebooks, and pens and pencils…stuff like that," he said, trying to act casual. "What about you?"

Kyoko nodded. "I got pretty much the same things. I got a couple things for my new uniform, but I didn't have time to look at hair-type things," she said with a pout. "Sachi needed me to help pick out a tie for her, and since I needed one, too, I decided to put it off until later."

Ryoma nodded and hid a smile. "Oh, that's too bad."

"Yeah…but enough of my problems!" Kyoko said quickly, worrying that she was boring Ryoma. "Did you spend your last day of break like you hoped you would?"

Ryoma paused to think about it. He slurped up some of his noodles before making his response, "You could say that."

"That's good then…?" Kyoko said, unsure of how to answer.

"Well, I got to hang out with all our friends…the only thing that would've made it better is if we all went to play tennis," he said.

"Oh, okay," she said. "I wish we could've been able to. But you have the rest of the tournament coming up in a couple days, so I'm sure Tezuka will make you guys practice enough tomorrow after school to make up for today."

Ryoma nodded and cringed. "I can't wait for all the laps," he said sarcastically.

Kyoko giggled. "I don't know if they'd be so bad if you guys didn't have a penalty if you were the last one to finish. Or, as Sadaharu would put it, Penal-Tea."

Ryoma shook his head. "Inui-Sempai and his drinks…one day they're going to kill us all…"

"They'll only kill those of us who drink them. We'll just have to stay on our toes and avoid drinking them," Kyoko said.

Ryoma nodded in agreement as they both finished their bowls of ramen. After paying, they made their way back to Kyoko's house.

"Thank you very much again for taking me out to eat," Kyoko said gratefully. "I owe you so much…"

"It was nothing…really. I'm glad I could take you out. Where are your parents, anyway?" Ryoma asked. He had noticed they were never home.

Kyoko shrugged. "They went on a long vacation, and said they'd be back soon. But when they were done with that vacation, they wanted to go another long one. They don't like Japan that much, but they know I have to stay here for a good education…I have grandparents that live on the other side of Japan, and they call every once in a while to check up on me," she said. "But other than that, I'm here alone with my cat. It's not so bad, though…I like the quiet. It makes it easier to do homework."

She smiled and Ryoma adjusted his hat. "That sounds lonely," he said.

"It sometimes is, but Sachi always seems to be there when I'm feeling lonely. She's a good friend," Kyoko said with a smile. "And I have all of you guys to keep me company, too!"

Ryoma gave her a small smile. "I'm glad we can all help."

They arrived at Kyoko's house, and walked in to get Ryoma's things. They walked into the living room, where they put his bag, and Kyoko handed him his bag. "Sorry for the trouble," she said with a bow.

"Really no trouble at all," Ryoma said, giving her a bow in return.

"Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow then?" Kyoko said.

Ryoma nodded. "But before I leave…I wanted to give you these," he said, taking out the hair clips in his bag.

He handed them to her, and watched as her eyes lit up. "Oh my, these are the clips I wanted from the store!" she exclaimed, then gave him a hug. "Thank you so much, Ryoma!"

He put his arms around her as she hugged him and smiled. It was perfect hug because she was smaller than him, and fit perfectly in his arms. She looked up at him, her arms still around his waist, and asked, "How did you know I liked these?"

"I was walking by and saw you looking at them. When you put them back, I decided I'd get them for you…I knew you'd like them…"

"I love them!" she squealed, giving him another hug.

"I'm glad," he said.

They continued hugging for longer than they'd admit to. But, to both of their dismay, their hug ended as they slowly let go of each other and had to say their goodbyes.

"So…I will see you tomorrow, Kyoko," Ryoma said.

She nodded. "Our first day back. I'm not sure if I'm excited or not."

"I know I'm not…" Ryoma said.

He knew he'd have to spend all day without her, while she was in a different class. Little did he know, Kyoko was thinking the same thing.

"Well, we can regale each other with the thrilling details at lunch," Kyoko reminded him.

Ryoma nodded. "Alright sounds good."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. He started to move away, keeping his eyes locked on hers and his face close to hers, which made her face turn red. His eyes had a major effect on her heart, which began to speed up.

"Until tomorrow, my princess," he said, motioning toward the clip with the crown on it. He moved his lips up to her forehead and gave her another kiss.

"A-alright," she stuttered.

He gave her an amused smile before he took his bag and walked out the door, leaving Kyoko's face flushed.

She couldn't remember a time where she was happier than she was at that moment.


	35. First Day

**_Chapter Thirty Five: First Day_**

As Kyoko opened her eyes to the annoying sound of her alarm clock, she looked over at her window.

She saw sunlight peeking through her curtains, and cautiously sat up and swung her feet over the bed to put on her slippers.

Closing one eye, she drew back the curtains, revealing a bright morning.

Stretching she made her way to her closet where her brand new uniform hung. It was comprised of a black top with a jacket, and a short, red and black plaid skirt. The accessories she had bought the day before sat in a small basket next to the uniform, including a dark red tie, and the clips she had received from Ryoma.

Smiling she walked into her bathroom to make herself ready for the first day of school.

* * *

"Too slow Sachi," Eiji sang from the bathroom.

He was getting ready for school, and Sachi was impatiently waiting outside of the door.

"Aren't you done yet?" Sachi asked.

"Nope. I'm still brushing my teeth."

"You've been brushing them for _hours_!"

"Have not!"

"Have so!"

"HAVE NOT!"

"What's all this noise for?" Eiji's mother asked as she walked up to Sachi.

"Eiji's taking longer on purpose," Sachi whined.

Sighing his mother walked up to the door and knocked. "Eiji? Can you please hurry so Sachi can get ready?"

"But mother, I am hurrying," Eiji replied in an angelic voice.

Eiji's mother and Sachi exchanged a glance of disbelief.

"Well, hurry faster."

"Yes, mother."

Sachi gave her a thankful look and started to walk away. "I guess I'll go wait in your room…see if there's anything to entertain myself with…" she said.

She heard Eiji unlock the door and saw him as he ran past her. "No you don't!"

"Ha!" Sachi exclaimed, turning and rushing into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Eiji had realized what happened, and ran back to the bathroom door, pounding on it. "No! You tricked me!"

"Well, it's my turn."

"No fair…" Eiji whined as he sat on the floor and pouted.

Sachi began singing to herself as she combed through her hair, taking pride in the fact she had outsmarted Eiji.

* * *

Walking down the street from her house, Kyoko wondered how everyone else was feeling about the first day of school.

As she got closer to the school, the sidewalks were filled with students making their way to school as well.

Most of them she didn't recognize, while a few looked somewhat familiar. She knew by their uniforms that many of them were younger than her, explaining why she didn't know them.

There were Sakura trees on both sides of the road, and the wind that was blowing caused pink petals to fall everywhere.

Kyoko took notice of this, and smiled at the scenery; she had missed Japan.

When she arrived at school, she double checked her class number before waiting at the table outside where she and Sachi met the Regulars every other morning before school; before they had left for America, that is. When it got colder, Sachi complained about it until they picked a spot inside where it was warmer. But the spot for nice, sunny days stayed the same.

Kyoko opened her bag and organized her small binder, waiting for the others to get there.

After a bit, out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone approaching her. Looking over, she saw Tezuka.

"Good morning," she said with a smile.

"Morning," he replied, sitting next to her. "You're early."

"Actually, I just got here," Kyoko said. "You seem to be early, too."

"I'm normally here around this time," Tezuka said. "Being early is a good thing to practice."

Kyoko nodded in agreement. "I remember when we were little and hung out, you always were at the playground before I was," Kyoko said with a smile. "I would try to wake up earlier and earlier to beat you, but you always seemed to beat me."

Tezuka gave her a small, barely noticeable smile as he thought back. "I remember that…you'd be out of breath when you got there because you'd run all the way from your house…the look of shock on your face each time you saw me there was priceless…" he said.

Kyoko blushed, remembering this, too. "I…I was just surprised that I couldn't beat you!" she exclaimed. "I wanted to win, just once!"

"But you never did," Tezuka said, trying to hold back his smile.

Kyoko crossed her arms and pouted. "I beat you at plenty of other stuff…"

"Like?"

Kyoko paused. "Not tennis…well, not any sport, really…umm…not videogames, either…how you got to be good at sports and videogames is beyond me," she said, throwing him a glare before continuing. "Oh! I got a better score than you on that one English test in our last year in elementary school!"

"An English test?"

"Yeah, the one that I made a big deal of for a month!"

Tezuka thought a moment, and then remembered. "Oh that's right…after school that day you came over to play tennis and bragged the whole time, even after I beat you in a match…" Tezuka said with a roll of his eyes. "And now that you're bringing it up again, I guess it'll be something you'll never let me live down."

Kyoko nodded with a teasing smile. "You have to hold onto things that make you happy! And that just happens to be one of those things."

"I feel so lucky," he said sarcastically. "You know we haven't had a match in a while. Not since you got back from America."

"Huh…you're right. We should have one soon. I mean, if it's okay to challenge the captain of the Regulars to a tennis match…" Kyoko said with a sly smile.

"I believe I challenged you," Tezuka pointed out. "How about tomorrow after school? While everyone is doing their laps, we can have a quick one set match."

"Quick, huh? Alright," she replied. "Try not to bagel me…I'm nowhere near your level."

"I don't know about that."

"Well, I do…"

Kyoko challenged his kind expression with a teasing glare. She knew she couldn't let her guard down.

"Morning," they heard someone say.

They turned and saw Ryoma standing there, his tennis bag in his hand.

"Good morning," Kyoko said with a smile as she leaned forward to see him around Tezuka. "Glad to see you're not late today."

Ryoma gave a small smirk before he and Tezuka were locked in somewhat of a glare.

"Echizen," Tezuka said in acknowledgement.

"Captain," Ryoma replied.

"Good morning!"

"It is, isn't it?"

The three turned and saw Eiji and Sachi making their way to them, all smiles.

"You two seem to be happy to be up," Kyoko noticed.

"It's the morning!" Eiji exclaimed.

"You're this happy while at school?" they heard Oishi's voice behind them. "I'm impressed Eiji."

Eiji suddenly looked crestfallen. "Way to kill my morning, Oishi…" he said throwing a glare over his shoulder at him. He noticed Fuji was next to him.

Fuji put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, things may get better, Eiji."

"I hope so…"

"Sorry I'm late," Momo said as he ran up to the group.

"No one even noticed," Sachi said with a dismissive wave.

Momo glared at her. "I'm sure someone did…"

"I did," Ryoma offered.

Momo's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, you borrowed some grip tape that I need back…"

Momo glared at Ryoma. "Maybe I don't want to give it back."

Before Momo realized it, Sachi was behind him fishing out the grip tape from the tennis on his back, and tossed it to Ryoma. "There you go," she said.

"Thanks," Ryoma said, placing it in his own tennis bag.

"Hey!" Momo protested.

Sadaharu walked up to the group then, reading his notebook. He looked up at them and pushed up his glasses. "It seems that ninety one percent of our grade is curious to see Kyoko and Sachi, eighty one percent of the second years are, and seventy percent of the first years are," he reported.

"They're curious to see us?" Kyoko repeated. "Is that a good thing?"

Sachi smiled proudly. "They're all waiting for us, Kyoko!"

"You make us sound so famous," Kyoko said with a small blush.

"At this school, we practically are," Sachi said with a knowing nod.

"Well…as long as we're known for good things, I can't complain…"

"That's the spirit! Now let's go greet everyone!" Sachi said walking next to Fuji.

"You plan on making a grand entrance?" Fuji asked with a smile.

"What other kind is there?" Sachi asked as she linked arms with him and walked up to the school. "Kyoko, hurry up!"

Kyoko stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder with a smile. "Guess we'd better follow…" she said quickly running over to Sachi.

In her haste, one of her notebooks dropped out of her bag.

Tezuka picked it up and walked over to hand it to her. "You dropped this, Kyoko."

"Huh? Oh, thank you!" she said taking it back and putting it in her bag. "That would've been bad if I left that outside…"

Tezuka simply nodded and walked alongside her as they strode through the doors of the school, behind Sachi and Fuji.

The rest of the Regulars followed closely behind, which made everyone in the halls turn and whisper among themselves as they stared.

Kyoko tried to keep her eyes forward, avoiding eye contact with curious stares from the people she passed. She leaned to Tezuka and asked, "Is it always like this for you?"

Tezuka shrugged. "You get used to it."

"I don't see how…" she muttered before turning to Sadaharu who was behind her and Tezuka. "Try to give us a list of things people talk about, okay?"

Sadaharu nodded as he scribbled in his notebook.

"Try not to worry about it," Tezuka said with a somewhat soft expression.

Kyoko nodded and took a deep breath, focusing all her energy on following Sachi and Fuji.

"What are you writing, Inui-Sempai?" Momo asked as he peeked over Sadaharu's shoulder.

Sadaharu flashed a smile. "You'll all find out soon enough."

Momo shuddered as Eiji placed his hands on Momo's shoulder, and whispered, "It's best not to ask…"

Momo audibly cleared his throat as he nodded.

As they arrived at Sachi, Kyoko, Eiji, and Fuji's class, the four exchanged waves with the rest of the group before walking into the half-full classroom.

Everyone already in the classroom ceased their conversations as they turned to stare at them.

"Hello!" Sachi said with a wave at everyone.

Instead of waving back, everyone leaned to one another and whispered things Kyoko and the rest couldn't hear.

"Well, that was rude…" Sachi said. "They're not getting any more waves…"

"That'll show them," Fuji said with a smile as Sachi unlinked their arms.

Kyoko took her seat next to Sachi, behind Eiji and Fuji's desks.

"I'm glad we're all sitting next to each other!" Eiji said with a smile.

"What are the odds?" Fuji asked happily.

"You guys will have to catch us up with the homework assignments and projects," Kyoko said gravely. "I'm sure we'll have plenty so they can check if we learned anything over in America…"

Sachi rolled her eyes. "This stuff is all easy, we'll be able to pull it off no problem," she said with a reassuring pat on Kyoko's back.

Kyoko noticed Eiji suddenly lost interest in their conversation and had his focus on a girl in the back of the room.

"Uh…excuse me for just one second…" he said standing up and walking back to her.

Fuji, Kyoko and Sachi watched as he went back to her with smiles.

"Looks like Eiji's bringing in the start of school with a girl," Fuji said.

"Good for him," Kyoko said. "It'll help him stay positive in school."

"She looks funny…" Sachi said, looking back at her with a glare.

"How so?" Kyoko asked as she turned around to get a better look at her.

"Her hair is so…flat…and her eyes are so…blah," Sachi said with a disapproving shake of her head.

"Are you sure you're not being an overprotective sister?" Fuji asked.

Sachi turned back around and crossed her arms. "I'm just saying she's not good enough for Eiji."

"Who is good for Eiji, then?" Fuji persisted with a smile.

Sachi shrugged. "Someone other than her."

"Maybe if you meet her…" Kyoko suggested. "I don't think I've ever seen her here before…"

"We'll see if Eiji decides to stick around her."

The three heard her and Eiji start laughing and Sachi turned to glare at her. "She'd better watch herself…"

"At least he's getting himself out there…" Fuji said quietly.

"What, Fuji?" Kyoko asked.

"Nothing," he replied with a smile. "I just think it's nice that Eiji is trying."

"Are you not trying?" Sachi asked turning back around.

Before he could reply, the teacher walked into the room, and everyone rushed to find their desks.

Eiji returned to his desk next to Fuji, and gave Fuji a thumbs up.

Kyoko looked over at Sachi who turned and looked at the girl he had been talking to out of the corner of her eye. Kyoko smiled; she knew how close Eiji and Sachi were, and how Sachi was just looking out for Eiji. Maybe she'd come to like this girl if her and Eiji became better friends? Kyoko hoped so.

* * *

"That class was so boring…" Sachi complained as she sat at their lunch table. "I think I fell asleep during the class…"

"You can tell you did because you have a big gap in your notes," Kyoko pointed out. "You can borrow Fuji's or mine; we're the only ones that were paying attention."

"Hey! I was paying attention!" Eiji protested.

"Not to the teacher…" Fuji said.

Eiji took out his notes from his bag and found he had only written the first line of what the teacher had written down on the chalkboard. "I guess I wasn't…oops…" he said scratching the back of his head. "Hey, Fuji…you wanna let me borrow your notes?"

Fuji smiled. "We'll see."

Oishi walked over to the group with his lunch tray. "Hey guys, how was your first day back so far?" he asked.

"Pretty good…" Kyoko said. "The work won't be that hard to catch up on…"

"Boring…" Sachi said as she poked her rice with her chopsticks.

"I hope it'll get better for you, Sachi," Oishi said. "Well, I have to go take care of making sure the tournament is all set up. So I'll see you all at practice after school."

He waved and walked away, leaving Eiji look as though he was about to start crying. "The golden pair…is breaking up…" he sobbed.

"You're not breaking up, he's just eating lunch somewhere else for today," Fuji said with a comforting smile. "You'll practice with him after school, don't worry."

"Maybe…"

Kaidoh and Takashi joined the group, as well as Sadaharu who took the seat next on one side of Kyoko to show her his findings. Ryoma sat on the other side of Kyoko as she looked over the notes.

"What are you reading, Kyoko?" Sachi asked.

"I asked Sadaharu to find out what people have been saying about us," she replied as she flipped through the pages. "Oh, everyone that Sadaharu took data from said that they think you've gotten prettier."

Sachi flipped her hair. "Well, that was an obvious fact…"

Kyoko smiled as she continued. "Let's see…there are the rumors about you and Eiji dating again…"

Sachi rolled her eyes and Fuji's smiled a little less.

"Then there are the other pairings that people like to come up with: you and Fuji, you and Momo, me and Fuji, me and Tezuka…"

"What about you and me?" she heard Tezuka say behind her.

Kyoko looked up and saw Tezuka looking over her head to read the notebook in her hands. "I'm reading what people are saying about us," she explained, noticing how tall he was.

"You worry too much about what people think of you," Tezuka said with that small barely noticeable smile again.

"I'm just…curious," Kyoko defended.

"It's good to know what your enemy is thinking," Sachi pointed out.

"They're not your enemies, they're your classmates…"

"Speak for yourself," she replied, pointing to the group of girls glaring at them from a table across the room.

"Well, I have to go help Oishi with the preparations for the tournament so I'll see you all at practice," Tezuka said before walking away.

Ryoma took the notebook from Kyoko and glanced over it.

To his dismay, none of the guessed pairings were him and Kyoko.


	36. Siblings and Pairings

**_Chapter Thirty Six: Siblings and Pairings_**

The final bell rang, releasing everyone from their first day back to school.

Sachi stretched as she got out of her seat. "I didn't fall asleep that time," she said proudly.

"Nice work, Sachi," Kyoko complimented. "But I didn't see you taking notes the whole time…"

Sachi glanced down at her notebook that lay open on her desk. The pages were blank. "I was so preoccupied with not falling asleep, I didn't pay attention at all…" she groaned as she closed the notebook and placed it in her bag. "Fuji…"

"Yes?" Fuji asked as he looked over with a smile.

"Can I borrow your notes…pretty please?" she asked with a sweet smile.

Fuji's smile broadened. "Alright, but you owe me."

"What do I owe you?" she asked looking at him suspiciously.

"I'll come up with something," Fuji said.

This answer seemed to be okay with Sachi, though the suspicious look never left her face. "Hey, Eiji…" she said turning to talk to him, but found him not to be by his desk. "Please tell me he's not by that girl…"

Kyoko stood in her line of vision so she couldn't see Eiji talking to the girl. "He's not by that girl," she said with a fake smile.

Sachi peered around her and saw he was with the girl and a few other people. "Ugh…I think I'm going to have to remove him from the premises…"

Before Fuji or Kyoko could stop her, Sachi marched over to their group and linked arms with Eiji. "Ready to go to tennis practice, Eiji?" she asked, giving the girl a mix of a smile and a glare.

The girl forced a smile as she locked eyes with Sachi. "Who's this, Eiji?"

"This is Sachi," Eiji said, trying to get out of the arm link with her.

"Yeah, Eiji and I are best friends," she said. "Closer than close, right Eiji?"

Eiji, not totally sure of what she was doing, smiled and nodded. "We're siblings."

"Siblings, huh?" the girl asked. "For a moment I thought you two were dating…"

Sachi laughed, maybe louder than she meant to. "No, nothing like that. I watch over Eiji like a hawk, though. He's like my little brother that I won't let anything bad happen to," she said, patting his head protectively.

"Oh, that's nice…" the girl replied in the nicest voice she could manage. "Well, it was really something to meet you. But I've got to go train in preparation for practice tomorrow. See you later, Eiji."

With a wave, she and the rest of the students left the classroom.

Kyoko and Fuji joined Eiji and Sachi as Sachi spoke, "She didn't even tell me her name. That's rude."

"I bet she didn't want you to know her name because you're a psycho sister!!"

"As I recall, there was a brother who was always worrying about his sister to the same degree…" Fuji said with a knowing smile.

Eiji smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh…I guess you're not being psycho…" he said apologetically to Sachi. "Well, what did you think of her?"

"She's…something," Sachi replied.

"Something good, huh?" Eiji asked, but when Sachi only replied with a shrug, he sighed.

"She seemed to like you, Eiji," Kyoko pointed out, trying to cheer him up.

"You think?" he asked excitedly.

Kyoko nodded and Eiji smiled.

"Shall we go to practice now?" Fuji asked. "We don't want to run extra laps, do we?"

"No way! Not on the first day!" Eiji exclaimed as he ran out of the classroom.

Fuji smiled and ran to catch up to him. "I'll race you," he said as he was even with him.

"I'll win!" Sachi said as she ran past both of them.

"I'll meet you guys there…" Kyoko called out as she walked out of the classroom.

She watched them run down the hallway until they were out of sight, then turned her attention to the hallways. There were a few students lingering to talk about their first day, and catch up with others that they hadn't seen all break.

"Did you enjoy your first day?" she heard someone ask.

She turned and saw Ryoma walking up to her.

"Oh, hey Ryoma," she said with a smile. "It was pretty fun…Eiji found a girl that he likes, and Sachi's playing big sister."

"Really? That's nice," Ryoma said. "Do you like the people in your class?"

"I don't know most of them, but they seem nice…I sit next to Eiji, Fuji and Sachi, so I only really talk to them."

Ryoma nodded, but didn't say anything.

"How was your first day back?" Kyoko asked.

Ryoma shrugged. "It was fine, I guess. Most of the time I heard people whispering about you and Sachi," he replied.

Kyoko turned to him curiously. "What were they saying?"

"They were just talking about how the 'two girls that hang out with the Regulars are back'."

"I guess there's no indication of whether that's a good or bad thing…" Kyoko said with a sigh.

She looked down at her uniform and pouted. It made her and Sachi stand out even more than usual.

"It sounded like a good thing from their tones," Ryoma said, attempting to comfort her. "A couple of them said they hoped you weren't dating any of the Regulars so they could talk to you."

Kyoko laughed. "I've got first year admirers? That's cute," she said with a smile. "I'm sure Sachi has every grade admirers."

"You do, too," Ryoma said.

"Oh?" Kyoko said. "Well, if I do, I've never seen them before…none of them talk to me."

"Maybe they're too intimidated?"

Kyoko gave him a sarcastic look. "I'm five foot one…not exactly a ferocious monster…"

Ryoma shrugged. "Maybe it's your looks."

"I look…scary?" Kyoko asked.

"No, I mean…maybe they think you're pretty, so they're scared to talk to you…"

Kyoko laughed a little, but realized Ryoma was serious. "Oh…well, if that's the case, may the bravest win a conversation with me," she said with a serious face. "And it seems I've found the first brave man."

She gestured toward Ryoma and he smirked.

By this time, they reached the tennis courts where everyone was stretching inside and outside of the courts.

Sadaharu stood by a table where a bunch of what looked like Inui drinks sat.

Ryoma leaned to Kyoko and said, "Drinking one of those takes bravery."

Kyoko nodded and cringed as Ryoma walked over by Momo and stretched.

Kyoko looked around for Eiji, Fuji and Sachi. Eiji was by Oishi on the bench within ear shot, while Fuji was talking with Tezuka. After searching the courts, Sachi didn't seem to be anywhere.

Walking over to Eiji, she asked, "Where's Sachi?"

Eiji looked over and rolled his eyes. "You should've seen it, Oishi. Sachi was talking about how close we were to her!"

"Are you talking about the girl you like?" Kyoko asked.

Eiji nodded and smiled. "Oishi here found a girl he likes, too. Tell her, Oishi!" he said patting Oishi on the back.

Oishi blushed. "Well, when Tezuka and I went to set up the tournament, it was at a meeting of all the sports, and she's in one of the sports."

Eiji elbowed him in the side and smiled knowingly. "Looks like the Golden Pair is finding love, eh?"

Oishi smiled and continued blushing.

"So…does that mean you know where Sachi is?" Kyoko asked.

Eiji shook his head. "She said she had 'other engagements' that she had to 'attend to'," Eiji said, using his hands as quotation marks to quote what Sachi had said.

"Oh…I guess I'll just see her later then…"

"Everyone," Tezuka announced in his stern voice. "Ten laps."

The first and second years groaned as they began, but the Regulars continued stretching.

"When I say everyone, I mean everyone," Tezuka said.

"At least we won't have to do extra laps," Eiji pointed out as they began running around the courts.

Oishi nodded in agreement as Kyoko walked over to Tezuka. "What's the Inui juice for?" she asked as she pointed to the table by Sadaharu.

"Inui wanted to try out a new flavor on everyone," Tezuka said. "After they're done with their ten laps, they'll have matches against opponents I choose."

He showed her the blank notebook in his hands.

"You haven't chosen anyone yet?" she asked.

"I'm working on it…"

"Let me help…" she said, taking the notebook from him, and sitting down.

She sat cross legged and tapped the pen against her cheek thoughtfully. She patted the spot next to her for Tezuka to sit down, which he obediently did.

"So, we'll have to make it so they'll gain something out of each match, but each match has to be something where they don't expect it," Kyoko said. "For example, Oishi and Eiji shouldn't be paired against each other, because they'll be expecting it."

Tezuka nodded. "But wouldn't they gain the most out of it? Because they're doubles partners?"

Kyoko paused. "We should match up the ones who don't know the other's strengths and weaknesses other than what they've _seen_. It'll be somewhat of a random pairing. I know they've all played against each other at one point, but maybe each hasn't played everyone else as much as they should…"

"I don't see how that'll benefit them…"

"Okay, let's say we put Momo against Taka," Kyoko said, trying to imagine a scenario. "They're both power houses, and they'll just try to use their power to overcome the other. But they can't always win using power…so, if we put one of them against Sadaharu, for example, he'll easily figure out a way to diminish their power. So they'll need to come up with more ways to win."

Tezuka nodded as she spoke. "I guess that'll help…"

"Okay, then…" Kyoko said with a triumphant smile.

She began writing down names in her neat script, and when she finished she handed it to Tezuka, who looked it over.

He nodded his approval. "Looks like this works for today's practice. Thanks."

"No problem. Glad I could be the 'manager' today," she said.

"You don't want to play any other sports instead of being here?" Tezuka asked.

She shook her head and smiled. "Tennis will always be the sport for me."

Tezuka nodded in understanding. The two waited for everyone to be done, and then gathered the Regulars.

Kyoko and Tezuka stood in front of them as they waited for their instructions. "Today, we're having matches that Kyoko has chosen," he said as he looked down at the notebook. "First match is Echizen and Takashi. Second match is Momoshiro and Fuji. Third match is Oishi and Kauro…"

Eiji looked around panicking. "But that means…"

"Fourth match is myself and Kikumaru."

Eiji looked over at Kyoko and glared. "Thanks a lot, Kyoko…" he muttered.

Kyoko smiled at him and took the notebook back from Tezuka as he spoke again. "If you lose a one set match against the other person…"

"You have to drink my new juice," Sadaharu said as he suddenly appeared beside Tezuka. "It's the penal-tea's second generation: 'Punishment'."

After a pause, Oishi asked, "There's no pun to this one?"

Sadaharu smiled. "Not this time. There's a little more flavor to this one…"

Eiji leaned to Fuji and said, "It's more awful flavor, I bet!"

Fuji smiled at Sadaharu's table where all the juices sat. "That does look good…" he said before turning to see Momo cringing at the sight. "But I think Momo would enjoy it much more."

Momo stared at Fuji with wide eyes. "Fuji-Sempai…"

Fuji smiled at him as he walked past him to their assigned court. Everyone else soon followed suit and prepared themselves for a fight against 'Punishment'.


	37. Punishment

**_Chatper Thirty Seven: Punishment_**

As the Regulars readied themselves on their courts, Kyoko tried to decide which match she would watch.

Nonchalantly she walked to the court Ryoma and Takashi were playing on, and sat on the bench just outside the court.

Ryoma walked over to the bench inside the court where his tennis bag lay, which happened to be by the bench Kyoko sat on, as he spoke to her, "You're watching me, huh?"

Kyoko fought back a blush. "I'm just…making my rounds," she replied.

Ryoma smirked as he took out his water bottle and set it on the bench. "Sure, sure…"

Takashi was on the other side of the court, stretching.

"Ready, Echizen?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Ryoma replied.

Racquet in hand, he flashed Kyoko a smile before taking his spot on the court. Kyoko looked over and saw Takashi bend down and pick up his own racquet.

"Rahhh! Can you feel the heat?!" he exclaimed. "Let's go, baby!"

"Whenever you're ready, Kawamura-Sempai," Ryoma replied with a smirk.

Kyoko gripped the notebook in her hands a little tighter, worrying about how Ryoma would fare against Takashi's power. After re-checking his smirk and his worry-free expression, her grip loosened; if he wasn't worried, she shouldn't be either.

* * *

"Sounds like Taka is excited," Oishi said quietly to himself. "I should be, too…"

He looked over at the court next to him and saw Eiji fully concentrating on Tezuka who was preparing to serve. He smiled, proud of Eiji for taking the match so seriously, and nodded as he decided to try just as hard.

Across his own court Kaidoh was glaring at Oishi in concentration.

"Let's try our best…" Oishi said with a smile.

Kaidoh replied with a hiss, and bounced a tennis ball in front of him, preparing for his serve.

Just as he threw it up, a small breeze blew past them, causing his bandana to move along with it as it was tied around his head.

Then he smashed it down with his racquet into the service box.

* * *

"Lovely breeze," Fuji said with a smile.

Momo flinched as Fuji's original good natured smile turned into a malicious one, his bright blue eyes locked onto him with concentration.

Clenching the tennis ball in his hands, Momo walked back to the service line and tried to keep it together.

"I can do this…I can do this…" Momo said quietly.

He paused to look around; he didn't see Sachi anywhere, which made him smile a little. She wouldn't be there to distract him with negative feelings or comments. Just as he held the ball slightly higher, he froze. _Maybe she is here, _Momo thought to himself as he re-checked the surrounding area. Finding nothing, he shook his head and tried to focus his energy at the matter at hand.

"Are you alright, Momo?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" he said before throwing up the ball and releasing a powerful serve.

* * *

"I don't want to drink that awful thing!" Eiji exclaimed as he got a point off of Tezuka.

He did a fist pump and smiled sheepishly at Tezuka, who stared back at him with his expression-less face.

"Don't let your guard down," Tezuka said before turning and walking back to prepare for another serve.

Eiji laughed and walked back to return his serve. His blue eyes concentrated as he watched Tezuka throw up the ball, set up, and then smash the ball down, aiming exactly for the right corner of the service box on Eiji's side.

Eiji took a step back and positioned himself in front of the ball before swinging. His return hit on the other side of the court that Tezuka was on. Smiling Eiji watched Tezuka run over to get it. Before he realized it, Tezuka had done a quick top slice that went right through Eiji's legs. Eiji turned and saw the ball hit the fence and start rolling back toward him.

"I told you not to let your guard down," Tezuka said.

Eiji clenched his teeth. "I'll get the next one…" he said quietly walking back to his side.

As he turned to face Tezuka again, he had a smile on his face. "Let's go!" he said excitedly.

Tezuka held in a smile. It was just like Eiji to have his happy-go-lucky attitude, even when facing the captain. He admired that. But he wasn't about to drink what Sadaharu had on that table. Losing was no option.

* * *

"Game, set and match," Ryoma proudly called out as he defeated Takashi with a smirk.

Takashi's racquet slipped out of his hands as the two walked forward to shake hands. "Um…good game…Echizen…" he said, smiling and scratching the back of his head. "Looks like I've got a lot more practice to do…"

"You, too, Kawamura-Sempai," Ryoma replied. "Mada mada dane."

Kyoko smiled at the two as they walked out of the courts. "Good job you two," she said.

"Th-thanks," Takashi said with a shy smile.

"Looks like Echizen won," the three heard Sadaharu say.

Turning around, they saw he stood by them, and his glasses glinted, making his smile look evil. He handed Takashi a glass of the juice called 'Punishment'. Kyoko was silently thankful that she didn't have to drink it.

Takashi reluctantly chugged the drink down, and held his mouth shut as he tried to swallow it. He ran off into the distance, and yelled as he was leaving.

Kyoko and Ryoma glanced at Sadaharu who was taking notes on Takashi's reaction.

Slowly they walked past him to see how the rest of the matches were turning out.

"So, do I get a winning kiss?" Ryoma asked.

"What?!" Kyoko asked, turning to him surprised.

Ryoma smirked. "Just kidding."

Kyoko blushed as she tried to laugh it off. "Right…I knew that…"

She could feel her heart beating faster in her chest, and was thankful that it wasn't noticeable to anyone but herself.

The two walked past Fuji and Momo's court as they shook hands at the net. Momo had a sour look on his face, obviously having been defeated. Fuji's smile was a little broader than normal as he watched Sadaharu hand Momo the deadly drink.

Momo's reaction was the same as Takashi's, and was soon seen running away from the courts, holding his mouth in disgust.

The remaining matches were playing out their last few points when Kyoko and Ryoma reached them. Eiji had an intense expression on his face, while Tezuka had his normal, cold expression. Oishi looked spent, and Kaidoh wasn't sweating as much as Oishi was.

"Game, set, match," Tezuka said as he did a zero degree drop shot for the final point.

Eiji fell to his knees and put both hands on the ground. "Noo!!" he shouted. "I don't want to drink it!"

Sadaharu appeared behind him with a smile. "Here you go, Eiji," he said handing him a glass filled with the juice. "Drink up."

"Do I have a choice…" he replied standing up and taking the drink. He plugged his nose and chugged it down.

He soon joined Momo and Takashi somewhere outside of the courts to recover.

Oishi and Kaidoh, having watched this, turned to each other more determined than before.

_I will not lose!,_ they thought at the same time.

Oishi served, and Kaidoh did a sharp snake before rushing to the base line. Oishi looked for a weak point and did a Moon Volley over Kaidoh's head. He ran back to get it, but when he hit it, his shot landed against the net. His fate was sealed: Sadaharu was behind him, and he was with the rest of the victims within a matter of minutes.

Kyoko nervously laughed as Kaidoh ran past her and Ryoma. "I'm very glad I don't have to drink that…" she said. "I don't think I'd make it…"

"It's not that bad," Fuji said, walking over to them.

"Then…why didn't you take the drink instead?" Kyoko asked.

Fuji smiled. "It's more fun watching others suffer through it," he replied.

Ryoma and Kyoko cringed as Fuji's smile suddenly seemed sinister.

Kyoko's bag suddenly began vibrating and she took out her phone that was causing it. She saw she had one new text from Sachi, and opened it.

'_Kyoko, save some of Inui's juice 4 me. I'll want some 2morrow.'_

Kyoko looked over at Sadaharu and said, "Sachi will want some of that juice tomorrow. Maybe bring it for lunch," Kyoko reported, to which Sadaharu smiled.

"Certainly," he answered.

Kyoko looked down at her phone again as she typed a reply:

'_Got it taken care of. Where are you?'_

Kyoko waited a minute before Sachi's reply came back.

'_Out with a friend. I'll call you later today.'_

Kyoko smiled as she read her reply and snapped her phone shut. She wondered what friend Sachi was hanging out with, but figured she'd hear about it when they talked on the phone later.

"Who are you texting, Kyoko?" Fuji asked curiously.

"Oh, Sachi," Kyoko said as she put her phone back in her bag.

"Where is she…?"

"She says she's out with a friend…"

"A friend?"

"Yeah, I don't know who, though."

Fuji nodded. "Oh. That's nice."

Kyoko smiled as Tezuka joined their group.

Fuji turned to Tezuka and said, "With four of us down, I think practice should be over…who knows when they'll recover…"

Oishi joined their group then, too. "Yeah, I doubt Eiji will want to continue after that battle."

Sadaharu appeared behind the group. "But now would be a perfect time to see what they're capable of while they're weak."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sadaharu…" Kyoko said. "You might kill them instead…"

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses. "Weeding out the weak is good strategy."

The small group took a small step away from Sadaharu, who was oblivious to their reactions.

"I think they've practiced enough for today," Tezuka agreed, looking around before speaking to everyone in his commanding voice. "Practice is over. You are free to leave now."

"Good work everyone," Oishi added as some passed by them.

"It was a fun practice to watch," Kyoko complimented.

"Thank you for helping with the matches," Tezuka said nodding to Kyoko.

Kyoko waved her hand dismissively. "It was no problem. It was actually kind of fun," she replied with a smile. "Well, I'd better get home. I've got a lot of studying and catching up to do with school work."

She sighed and everyone nodded in understanding.

"I'm going to go check on everyone to make sure they are okay," Oishi said, motioning toward the direction ones who lost their matches had gone in. "I'll probably have to carry Eiji home…"

"What a good doubles partner," Fuji said with a smile.

Oishi smiled. "I hope you guys enjoy your evening," he said with a wave as he walked away.

"See you guys tomorrow," Fuji said walking in another direction.

That left Tezuka, Ryoma and Kyoko. "Are you two leaving now?" she asked.

They glanced at each other.

"I think I'm going to stay for a little bit longer," Ryoma said.

"So am I. Are you going to be okay walking home on your own, Kyoko?" Tezuka asked.

Kyoko nodded her head and smiled. "Of course. I'm a tough girl," she said stepping on her tip-toes and punching his shoulder teasingly. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow," Ryoma said.

"Have a good evening," Tezuka added.

She gave them a wave and a smile before turning and walking out of sight.

"You're practicing later?" Tezuka asked as soon as they couldn't see Kyoko anymore. "Any reasons?"

Ryoma shrugged and smirked. "Is there anything we need to settle?"

Tezuka stared down at him with a cold stare. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ryoma set his tennis bag down and pointed his racquet at Tezuka. "If there's nothing to settle, let's just play for fun."

Tezuka smiled inwardly as he set his bag down and took out his own racquet. "If that's how you want to play."

Ryoma smirked and followed him onto the courts as the sky was starting to turn a pink-orange color.

* * *

Walking down the side walks on the way to her home, Kyoko admired the Sakura blossoms as she had that morning. For some reason, she couldn't get over how beautiful they were.

There was a light breeze that swept the soft pink petals off the ground, and blew Kyoko's hair back a little.

There weren't any cars passing, and there didn't seem to be any people nearby. This made her feel a little uneasy, but she dismissed it as her over thinking it.

As she opened her door and walked into her house, she heard the familiar buzzing of her cell phone. She set her bag down on the ground as she took off her shoes and took it out, flipping it open.

"Hello?" she said as she put on her slippers and picked up her bag again.

"Hey, Kyoko," she heard Sachi's voice on the other line.

"Oh, hey Sachi. I missed you at today's practice."

"I'm sure everyone did, but don't worry, I'll be there tomorrow," she assured her. "I just got a last minute phone call."

"Oh? From who?"

Sachi paused as she decided whether to give out that information. "Um…Keigo…"

"Really? That was…nice of him to call."

"Well, I'm happy that he's actually showing me that he likes me…"

Kyoko sat on her couch and realized what Sachi meant. "Oh…yeah, that's good…"

"I guess…" she said with a sigh.

"You like…Fuji, don't you?" Kyoko asked carefully, not sure how Sachi would react.

Sachi paused. "I…think so…but he hasn't really done anything to show he likes me, so…"

"So that's why you agreed to hang out with Keigo?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love so many things about Keigo. But…I don't know…"

"Maybe Fuji's just shy…?"

"Yeah, but I can't wait forever for him…"

"Yeah, you're right…" Kyoko said sadly. "Maybe if you hinted more at it…"

"I don't know how else to hint at it, Kyoko…" Sachi replied frustrated.

Kyoko nodded, even though she knew Sachi couldn't see it. "I'm sure he'll get it soon…"

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Sachi warned.

"I'm not a swimmer, so I wouldn't try to," Kyoko replied with a smile. "So, I'll see you tomorrow for school?"

"Ugh, I guess so…" Sachi groaned. "I'm not looking forward to school…"

"I don't think anyone is, don't worry. See you then."

"Bye Kyoko."

The two hung up and Kyoko brought her knees to her chest as she hugged them closer. She wondered how Tezuka and Ryoma were doing; she was sure they just wanted to practice more, but were they overdoing it? She guessed so. They liked tennis too much sometimes.

But then the thought of Fuji and Sachi came into her head, with Keigo in the background.

She could tell, maybe more than Sachi, that Fuji really liked her, but was waiting for the right moment to ask her. Maybe she could talk to Eiji about it and help things speed up so Sachi wouldn't choose Keigo over him.

With that resolution in mind, she opened her bag from school, and began doing her homework on the coffee table.


	38. Captain

**_Chapter Twenty Eight: Captain_**

The next morning when Kyoko woke up, she turned over on her bed and picked up her phone. The clock on the front screen told her it was an hour earlier than she normally woke up at.

Sighing and putting her head back on her pillow she stared at the ceiling. All the night before, she tried to come up with a plan to get Sachi and Fuji together, but was only able to come up with a few steps that she'd need to take.

First of all, she'd need to get Sadaharu on data collecting; any kind of data that she could use to her advantage. She figured she could tell him her plan, because no one who would blurt out the information would dare look in his notebook after the 'hippo boy' incident at the zoo. Just so no one would be suspicious, she'd ask him in secrecy.

Then, she'd have to bribe Eiji so after she told him about the plan he wouldn't blab it out like he did with everyone else's secrets. She planned on going to the store before she talked to him and buy him something he'd like.

Next, she'd talk to Fuji to see if she could convince him _now_ was the time to make a move. That part, she knew, would be difficult, which was why she would enlist in the help of Eiji.

Last was to help Fuji get Sachi to where she needed to be in order for him to ask. She would've assumed Fuji could do this on his own, but he seemed to be unsure of what to do. Making sure he knew Kyoko was there for him for anything was all she could possibly offer, knowing he'd catch on. He was a genius after all.

Standing up and stretching, she decided she'd get ready and then head to the store before school. She would have to decide whether to give Eiji the bribe goods that day or wait a little bit longer. She knew whatever she got him would only keep quiet about a day and a half, so buying a small collection of things to give him over a period of a few days would be the best option.

As she made her way to her bathroom to fix her messy hair, she picked up one of the clips Ryoma had given her. The black tennis racquet reminded her that she had a match against Tezuka scheduled that day at practice.

She picked up the clip and took it in the bathroom with her, planning on putting it in her hair. Today, she hoped, would be a good day.

* * *

Ryoma rubbed his eyes and looked at his clock. It was still a half an hour before he had to get up.

Karupin lied at the end of his bed, purring contently. Ryoma sat up and leaned over to pet Karupin, who looked up at him with his blue eyes.

"Nya?" he asked and stood up.

"I've still got more time to sleep…" Ryoma said. "But I can't…"

Karupin jumped off his bed and rubbed against his tennis bag, reminding Ryoma of his tennis match the day before…

* * *

_"Game, set and match," Tezuka said._

_"…good game," Ryoma said. "But I'll win next time."_

_"Don't let your guard down," Tezuka reminded him._

_Ryoma smirked. "I know."_

_Tezuka and Ryoma silently walked over to their tennis bags and placed their racquets in them. They were two people who didn't like to talk when unnecessary. But both felt like they had something to talk about._

_"So…are you just going home now?" Tezuka asked nonchalantly as he and Ryoma made their way out of the courts._

_Ryoma nodded. "Where else would I go?"_

_"I don't know. Kyoko's maybe?"_

_There was a slight pause before Ryoma spoke, "No, not today."_

_"So you have plans another day?"_

_"Why do you suddenly care?"_

_Tezuka looked over at him with his expression-less face. "I don't."_

_Ryoma smirked. "Oh?"_

_Tezuka turned away to face the street his house was on. Before he started walking, he turned and said, "I play to win."_

_"Is the captain talking about tennis?" Ryoma asked with a knowing smirk._

_Tezuka didn't reply, but started down his street, leaving Ryoma unsatisfied with his answer._

_His smirk disappeared, leaving him with a face of indifference. He wasn't sure if this competition was something he could win._

_

* * *

_

At the store, Kyoko was in one of the aisles, looking at toothpaste. She finally decided on a nice minty tube of toothpaste, a little thing of mouth wash, and a thing of floss.

She knew Eiji loved brushing his teeth, almost to the point of obsession, and this would be just the thing to get him to stay quiet.

After she paid for it, she placed the items in her school bag, and walked out the door toward school.

She was still earlier than she wanted to be, but decided there was nothing else to do to kill time.

Arriving at school, there were a few people wandering into the school, but not that many. There was still too much time to just sit at the spot, so Kyoko chose to walk to class and drop off her bag.

As she made her way there, the hallways were eerily empty and quiet, an unusual sight for Kyoko. It was nice that it wasn't as loud as normal, but it still made her a little uneasy.

She reached the classroom and walked inside, finding it empty. After setting her bag on her desk, she walked back out into the hallway and saw Sadaharu just as he was walking by.

"Sadaharu?" Kyoko said.

Sadaharu looked up at noticed Kyoko. "Oh, good morning Kyoko."

"You're here early…"

"Actually, I arrived here precisely fifteen minutes ago, as I do daily. I usually do an analysis of the data I collected the day before," he explained. "But, by your comment, you seem to believe this is early, so may I ask why you are here at this time?"

"I had to take care of some business this morning," she said. "Speaking of which, I have something to discuss with you. But you have to keep it a secret between the two of us and that notebook, okay?"

Sadaharu pushed up his glasses and held up his notebook with a smile.

* * *

"And that concludes the meeting today. Thank you all for coming, and I'm sure someone from your team has taken the tallies by now for each captain. We ask that you report them back by the end of the day, after you have confirmed them," Oishi said to the group in front of him.

"Thank you," everyone replied, as they stood and bowed.

As everyone packed up their things and began to leave, Oishi walked back to his things on a desk and picked them up before walking to Tezuka.

"Did you see Kyoko and Sadaharu walk by the door?" Tezuka asked Oishi in a low voice.

"Yeah, I wonder what they're up to…" Oishi replied, obviously perplexed by this.

"Good job, Oishi," a girl complimented as she joined the two. "The track team is strong this year, and I'm sure we'll have a lot of great competitors."

Oishi smiled and scratched the back of his head as he blushed. "Y-yeah, I'm sure they are, Hisako. Are you going to try for captain this year?"

Hisako nodded. "I've been captain for the past two years in a row, so I'm sure I'll get it again this year. The track team votes for the captain they think is most capable, and my team thought I've done a good job leading us to victory so far."

Oishi smiled as Tezuka glanced at the door.

"I wish you all the luck," Oishi said.

"Well, I've got to go. See you when you're done here, Oishi."

Without so much as a wave, Tezuka left the classroom.

"Sorry about that…" Oishi apologized.

Hisako gave him a smile and glanced at the door. She wondered what Tezuka was in such a rush to go do. Figuring it was some tennis thing, she turned back and continued talking with Oishi.

* * *

Sadaharu nodded. "I understand. According to my data, someone was going to bring this up to me within the next two days and it was a sixty nine percent chance it was going to be you."

"Some day you're going to have to show me how you come up with all of that data," Kyoko said in awe.

He pushed up his glasses and noticed Tezuka was approaching. "And that, Kyoko, is the proper form for countering his zero degree drop shot."

Kyoko gave him a puzzled look before Tezuka walked up beside her and she understood what he was doing. "Okay, thanks, Sadaharu. I'll definitely beat him now," she said before looking shocked at Tezuka's sudden presence. "Oh! Tezuka…we didn't even notice you…"

Tezuka gave a faint hint of a smirk. "You didn't, huh?" he said.

Kyoko shook her head, and looked for Sadaharu for confirmation.

He nodded his head in agreement, but obviously Tezuka wasn't convinced.

"Anyway…" Kyoko said, changing the subject. "What have you been up to?"

"I just got out of the second part of the sports meeting," Tezuka explained. "I saw you two walk by when we were in the middle of it, and thought I'd come see what you two were up to."

"I hope you weren't a distraction," Kyoko said wagging her finger at Tezuka.

"I wasn't…"

"Okay…just checking…" Kyoko said. "Oh, how did practice go after I left last night? With you and Ryoma I mean?"

Tezuka's body froze in remembrance, but he quickly relaxed and tried to act casual. "It was fine. We had a match."

"Who won?"

"There is a ninety five percent chance that Tezuka was the victor," Sadaharu reported.

"That is correct, I did win."

Kyoko nodded. "You both are just too good…"

"Don't forget about our match today," Tezuka reminded her.

Kyoko smiled and pointed to the pin in her hair. "I am all ready, captain."

"Good. And I hope the tips you tried to get off of Inui will be of assistance."

"Trust me, I'll need a lot more…" she muttered under her breath before looking up and smiling.

Everyone in their group eventually made it to their spot and talked until the first bell rang, signalling them to get to class.

As Kyoko walked into her classroom, she was followed by Sachi, Eiji and Fuji.

The two walked to their desks and began talking when a boy from another class walked in and looked around. He spotted Sachi and walked over with a bow.

"Sachi?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Sachi said eyeing the boy suspiciously.

Everyone in the classroom, including Eiji's crush and her group, turned to listen to the conversation.

"I don't know if you remember me from track last year…" Sachi shook her head, meaning that she didn't, but asked him to continue anyway. "Well, there was a tally, and the majority of the track team believed you to be the best choice for captain this year. Do you accept?"

Sachi blinked and looked at him suspiciously. "How much am I getting paid?"

"Uh…nothing?"

"Okay, but you owe me!"

The boy gave her a nervous look and bowed again. "Thank you very much for your time," he said before running out the door.

"Good job, Sachi! I'm so proud!" Kyoko said giving Sachi a hug.

"You'll be just like Tezuka, but everyone in your sport will outrun everyone in ours but Kaidoh!" Eiji exclaimed.

"You shouldn't speak like that about your own team mates, Eiji," Fuji pointed out. "Myself included."

Eiji scratched the back of his head and smiled apologetically.

Sachi had a proud look on her face when the girl Eiji liked walked over, obviously trying to hold in her anger. "What did that boy say to you?" she asked through her clenched teeth.

Sachi's smile faded when she met eyes with the girl. "Huh? Oh, it's you," she said with a roll of her eyes. "He just said that I was elected captain of the track team."

"Were you even _on_ the track team last year?"

Sachi gave her a puzzled look. "Yeah, I was the girl who got us to state…why, were _you _on the track team?"

"I've been the captain for the past two years…"

"Oh, I guess I never noticed…looks like there's a new captain in town…" Sachi said, turning to Eiji and Fuji with a sinister smile. "And Tezuka is going to love this…"

The girl cleared her throat, obviously upset at being ignored. Sachi turned to her in annoyance. "Yes?" she asked.

"I'm just going to say it's not over until it's over."

"I thought they already picked captains…that means it is over…"

The girl glared at her. "Just watch your back," she said before flipping her hair and returning to her group.

When she reached them, she glanced at Sachi to see her reaction. But to her dismay, Sachi stared her down with a malicious grin, and eyes that sparkled with excitement.

The girl cleared her throat and tried to remain composed. It wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.


	39. Leap Frog

_**A/N:** I'm trying to catch up, Saffy... ._

* * *

**_Chapter Thirty Nine: Leap Frog_**

As class ended, Kyoko stretched and smiled at Sachi who was already standing.

"I can't wait to see the look on Tezuka's face…" she said with a smile. "How should I tell him? Should I just run up and tell him? No…I bet someone else will tell him first, and then when he comes to confirm it, I'll act like him. Perfect!"

She exchanged a high five with Eiji, who nodded his approval. "Sounds like fun, Sachi," he said. "So, I'll see you guys at practice in a bit?"

Fuji nodded. "See you there."

Kyoko nodded, too, as Fuji dragged the reluctant Sachi out of the classroom; Sachi insisted she forgot something, but when Fuji asked what it was, she refused to tell him.

"Just let me go get it…" she said. "It'll only take a minute."

Fuji smiled but didn't waver. "I'm sorry, but you need to let him go," he said, keeping a firm grasp on her arm. "He's growing up, Sachi."

Sachi turned to him and said, "He still sleeps with a teddy bear…he's not growing up. And she's no good for him!"

"How do you know she's not really nice?" Kyoko asked.

"Because I know people. And she's not a nice person."

"Have some faith in your brother's decisions," Fuji said with a smile. "If she hurts him, I'm sure you'll be able to hurt her."

Kyoko looked at Fuji in confusion, but those words seemed to do the trick for Sachi. She immediately stopped struggling and smiled as Fuji let go of her arm.

"Is that a promise?"

Fuji glanced at Kyoko before nodding.

"Okay, well, let's go then," she said, waving her hand for them to follow her.

The two did, and found themselves at the tennis courts shortly after.

"Are you going to stay at the courts this time, Sachi?" Fuji asked casually.

Sachi took out her phone and flipped it open. "Um, yeah, I guess so."

Fuji smiled. "That's great."

"I guess…"

"And are you doing anything after?"

Sachi shrugged. "I might leave early, or I might wait for Eiji. We'll see."

Fuji nodded and tried to hold back his smile.

Kyoko didn't bother hiding her knowing smile; she looked between them happily, and confirmed parts of her plan: she decided to try the next day for Eiji's cooperation, with the mini bribes, and they would try to talk to Fuji that day, too. By then, Sadaharu would have gotten the necessary data, and maybe Fuji would be more prepared.

Suddenly Oishi walked over to them and smiled. "Hey Fuji, Sachi, Kyoko," he said politely. "Are you ready for practice?"

Fuji nodded. "I heard Tezuka's going somewhat easy on us today…we have a few more laps to do beforehand, but it seemed like he wanted to stretch it out more for some reason."

Oishi blinked. "Yeah, he has been acting kind of weird today…"

"Oh shoot, that reminds me…" Kyoko said suddenly. "I have to go get ready for my match!"

As she ran toward the school to change, the three watched her leave with puzzled looks on their faces.

"She has a match today?" Oishi asked.

Fuji and Sachi shrugged.

* * *

As Kyoko ran through the hallways, she stopped by her locker in one of the hallways and bent over to do the combination.

"Ten…zero…thirty," she said to herself as she switched it to the right, then left, and then back to the right.

"You'd better not hide any valuables in there now that I know your combination," she heard someone say.

Looking up, she saw Ryoma leaning against the lockers.

She turned back to her locker and smiled. "I'll keep that in mind," she said.

She took out the bag with her change of clothes in it, and set her school bag in her locker. Ryoma glanced curiously at it.

"You're going to practice, right?" Kyoko asked.

Ryoma nodded. "I do every day."

Kyoko blushed a little. "Right…well, I'll see you there in a bit?"

"Where are you going now…?"

"I'm going to change."

"You're playing with us?"

Kyoko shook her head. "No, Tezuka and I are just playing a match."

Ryoma blinked and stared dumbfounded at her.

She stood up and closed her locker, spinning the dial before facing him.

"So, I'll see you on the courts?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and smiling.

Ryoma had regained his composure and adjusted his hat over his eyes. "Yeah, see you."

Without another word, he walked away, leaving Kyoko a little confused; he seemed upset about something, but she couldn't tell what.

Hesitantly, she made her way to the gym so she could change into her tennis attire for the big match.

* * *

"One, two, three, four…one, two, three, four…" Eiji said as he and Oishi stretched by the tennis courts.

"So, how are you and that girl doing, Eiji?" Oishi asked curiously.

Eiji smiled. "That's a se-cr-et!" he paused before laughing. "Just kidding. We're still talking and everything. What about you and your girl?"

Oishi smiled. "She seems like she likes my company…I mean…she talks to me and seems to have fun…" he said a little unsurely.

Eiji pat him on the back. "I'm sure she loves you already!" he encouraged. "And once we both get our girls, we can go on Golden Pair double dates!"

"You make it sound like some big thing…"

"Eh? You don't think it is?"

"Well…it's not that…it's just…"

"Are you two ready?" the two heard someone ask.

They turned to see Tezuka standing next to them.

"Y-yeah," Oishi said, straightening up. "Right Eiji?"

Eiji nodded and smiled. "What's with the weird running schedule today, Captain? Oishi told me we're doing extra laps…"

Tezuka stared at him. "I have a match against someone today, and I've decided to have it during the time you are doing your laps."

"So we have to run until you're done with your match…?"

"Precisely."

Eiji groaned. "How unfair…wait, who is your match against?"

Tezuka opened his mouth to reply, but noticed someone approaching. He turned and saw Kyoko walking toward them; she wore a black tennis skirt, and white T-shirt, with her long hair pulled back into a pony tail.

"Sorry I'm late!" she called out when she saw them staring at her.

"So that's what she was talking about…" Oishi said quietly as she joined them.

"You're right on time," Tezuka said before turning to everyone else. "Start your laps!"

The seventh and eighth graders nodded and began running, while the Regulars lingered a few more moments before following them.

Kyoko smiled up at Tezuka. "You ready?"

"I'm always ready," he said before walking to a bench and taking out his racquet.

Kyoko rolled her eyes teasingly and set her bag down on the bench next to Sachi, who was texting someone on her phone. "Who are you texting?" Kyoko asked casually.

"Keigo."

"Oh…"

"He said he's busy today, but tomorrow he wants to go out to dinner," she said, biting her lip. "What should I do?"

"Do you want to go?"

"I do want to go with him, but I'd rather go with Fuji…"

"Why don't you ask him then?"

"It's not my job, it's his…"

"Well…maybe hint at it…?"

Sachi sighed.

"I've got a plan, Sachi, don't worry," Kyoko said with a knowing smile and a wink. "Just leave it to me."

Sachi looked up at her with a weak smile while Kyoko took out her racquet.

Tezuka walked over to the two of them and looked at Sachi warily. She quickly composed herself, took out her glasses and stared up at him with an expressionless face. "May I help you?" she asked in a calm tone.

"Is it true what I've heard?" he asked.

"About?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

Sachi crossed her arms and continued to stare up at him. "Tezuka, what _are _you talking about?"

Tezuka sighed. "Fine, are you really the captain of the track team?"

"I am."

There was a slight, awkward pause in which Kyoko laughed a little nervously. "Isn't that great, Tezuka? You both are captains now!" she said.

Tezuka and Sachi continued to stare emotionless at each other, neither one breaking eye contact.

"What should I do now…? Um…" Kyoko said quietly.

"Just don't cause any problems," Tezuka said suddenly before turning away to go onto the courts.

Sachi pushed up her glasses and stood up. "Don't cause me any problems," she countered with a calm demeanor.

Tezuka looked at her over his shoulder, then continued walking again. When he was out of ear shot, Sachi smiled triumphantly.

"That was great!" she said to Kyoko who high-fived her. "Now I'm going to have control over my own team! He's so mad now!"

"He seemed a little frustrated," Kyoko said, glancing at Tezuka. "I'm sure he's just feeling the pressure of having to be compared to other captains."

"And he knows he can't compare with me," Sachi replied with a flip of her hair. "Well, that was good fun for today. I have to go train my team, so I'll talk to you later. See ya!"

"Bye!" Kyoko said, waving to Sachi as she ran off.

Kyoko turned to the tennis courts and walked in, racquet in hand.

"Are you ready?" Tezuka asked, standing at the net.

Kyoko joined him and nodded. "Whenever you are."

Tezuka spun his racquet. "Rough or smooth?"

"Smooth," Kyoko said as the racquet hit the ground.

Tezuka lifted the racquet and showed her the end. "It's smooth."

"Lucky!" she said with a fist pump.

"Don't let your guard down," Tezuka said before turning away.

"I don't plan on it," Kyoko replied, walking back to her own side.

She picked up a tennis ball and bounced it in front of her, concentrating.

As the other players, including the Regulars, ran by, they watched the game as well as they could.

Tezuka crouched down slightly in anticipation of her serve. Kyoko glanced at him across the court, and knew she had to had to try her hardest with every hit.

She threw the ball up slightly behind her head, set her body up, then hit the ball at an angle. The ball shot down to the service box going to the left, spun a little as it landed, then shot up on the right.

Tezuka reacted too late; the ball hit the frame of his racquet, and lobbed over to Kyoko's side. She was already at the net and jumped up to do a smash.

Tezuka prepared himself by taking a few steps back. Kyoko smiled as she spun her body around, and turned her shot into a slice drop shot; she barely touched it, and when it bounced, it went backwards and hit against the net.

Tezuka stared at her, obviously not expecting any of it.

Kyoko stood up straight and put the racquet on her shoulder. "I thought you said not to let your guard down…do the same rules not apply to you?" she asked teasingly.

Tezuka continued to stare at her, then smiled a little. "No, just don't think it can happen more than once," he said turning away.

Kyoko smiled and went back to the service line for her next serve. She threw the ball up, hit it at a different angle, and did another twist serve, but in the opposite direction.

Tezuka was ready for this one; he set himself up, and then hit it back easily. Kyoko returned it to the right corner, which Tezuka hit it back, and then she hit the left corner.

Tezuka narrowed his eyes after he returned it, and she hit it to the right corner.

It was a trick she used to use when they were younger; she would always tire him out by hitting it in the opposite corners consecutively with such precision that he had to run so much.

Thinking back, he realized this could have been why his own Tezuka Zone was created: so Kyoko couldn't hit the corners to tire him out.

He smiled inwardly at the thought of their old games as children.

Kyoko hit the tennis ball to the left side, and Tezuka got it, then he ran to the right side to return her next shot.

After she hit the next one, Tezuka didn't run at all. He stayed in the middle as the ball came to him. Kyoko tried again to the left, but the result was the same: he didn't have to move a foot.

Clenching her teeth, Kyoko realized what was going on; she was trapped in the Tezuka Zone.

"I never did find a way to break that," Kyoko said as she tried again to the right. "Up until you mastered that, I had fun."

"You're saying you don't have fun anymore?" Tezuka asked as he casually returned her shots.

"It'll be more fun when I can come up with a shot that can easily beat it," she said as her shot hit the net.

She sighed and her shoulders slouched.

"You can do it," Tezuka said quietly.

"You have much too much faith in me," Kyoko replied quietly.

Tezuka and Kyoko took deep breaths and returned to their places on the courts, preparing for her next serve. As Ryoma ran by the courts, he stared at them with an expressionless face; he wondered how good of friends they really were.

* * *

The track team, a very large group of both boys and girls, stared up at their new captain as she towered over them from on top of a bench. She pushed up her glasses, and stared at each person individually, as if she was committing their faces to memory.

"I am Sachi, your new and improved captain," she said calmly and expressionlessly.

No one dared to speak, and she surveyed the area before pointing to the track field. "Twenty laps of leap frog," she said. "Starting now."

Everyone glanced at each other, questioning whether she was serious or not.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" she asked, pointing to her emotionless face.

A few people bravely shook their head in response.

"Then what are you waiting for? Leap frog, twenty laps, let's go!"


	40. Rivalry

_**Chapter Forty: Rivalry**_

Giving a small smile, Kyoko put her tennis racquet in her left hand and brushed aside a lock of hair that fell out of the clip that held the rest of her bangs.

She had lost.

Walking up to the net, she had no regrets about losing; it was a good match, and she was against a tough opponent. It was the outcome she was expecting.

Suddenly, as she took another step, she felt a sudden sharp pain in her left leg. She tried to ignore it, figuring it was nothing.

Thinking back, she did notice some pain while she ran, but she had just ignored it then, too.

She composed herself, making sure she didn't give a hint of pain on her face.

Tezuka, who followed her example of walking up to the net, took her right hand in his own firmly and looked down into her bright eyes.

"Good game," he said in his usual toneless voice.

"Yeah, you, too. It was a lot of fun," Kyoko replied with a sweet smile.

"Practice up a bit, and then perhaps we can play another match."

"I'd like that very much."

Kyoko flashed him one last smile before walking over to her tennis bag. He responded with a very small, mostly hidden smile and turned to go to his own bag.

Pausing a moment, he turned to watch Kyoko walk away and noticed she seemed to lean more on one leg than the other.

As he turned back around, he thought back through the match to any instance that she had tripped or seemed to be any pain. When he came up empty, he frowned a little to himself, trying to force out a memory that wasn't there.

Looking through the fence, he saw a few Regulars crowding around Kyoko, congratulating her and patting her on the back.

"Good match, Tezuka," a voice said near Tezuka.

Turning he saw Fuji on the other side of the fence.

"Thanks," he replied after a moment.

Glancing at Kyoko again, he saw she was walking in their direction, still leaning on her right leg. He frowned again, realizing she was trying to hide it.

"You noticed it, too?" Fuji asked, following Tezuka's glance.

Tezuka nodded casually and zipped up his tennis bag. "Did you see it happen?"

Fuji shook his head. "I think she just worked herself a little too hard. She doesn't look like she wants to make a big deal about it, though."

Tezuka sighed and walked over to open the gate. Walking out with his tennis bag, he waited until all of the Regulars were present. "Alright, let's start with a warm up before we do drills," he said in his commanding voice.

"Yes, captain," the Regulars replied respectfully, walking past him onto the courts, racquets in hand.

Eiji put his hands behind his head as he walked alongside Oishi. "First laps with no supervision or crazy drinks, then an awesome seat to a battle of amazing tennis players and now a longer warm up time! This is turning out to be a pretty relaxed practice!" he said happily.

"Don't get too used to it, Eiji," Oishi warned. "It's just a one time deal."

"Hey, I'm enjoying it while I can."

"Hopefully your skill won't suddenly go downhill," Fuji said as he walked by with a smile.

"My skill go downhill? Ha! I'll show you…come on, Oishi!" Eiji exclaimed, grabbing Oishi's arm and dragging him over to an open court.

Oishi gave Fuji a quick grateful smile before turning to see where he was being dragged to.

Over by the benches, Kyoko walked over to Tezuka and smiled.

"You going to go practice with everyone, or did I make you tired?" she asked teasingly.

Tezuka tried to smile, but was focusing on trying not to look at her leg. "I'll be practicing with everyone after a bit…" he said. "Why don't you sit down? You look…tired."

She smiled and wiped off her forehead with the sweatband on her wrist. "You're probably right…I'll watch you guys."

Tezuka nodded and pat the bench next to him. She gratefully took the seat and set her bag down at her feet, watching the Regulars start their warm up.

The two sat on the bench quietly, but not awkwardly. They just enjoyed the silence and each other's company.

"So, are you glad you're back?" Tezuka asked, breaking the silence the two had fallen into.

Kyoko nodded thoughtfully. "America was fun and all, but I missed home."

"How often did you see Sachi?"

"Almost every day. Our families lived near each other, surprisingly, and our home stay siblings were friends. She was the rock that kept me stable the whole trip."

When Tezuka raised an eyebrow, Kyoko laughed softly. "She made me feel like everything was normal, even with a sudden change," Kyoko said thoughtfully. "It's funny, too, because we became friends so fast. We went from just being in the same class to great friends going abroad together."

She shook her head in wonder as Tezuka stared absent mindedly at the Regulars as they played. Another momentary pause went by as they watched the tennis balls go back and forth.

"I feel bad about keeping you from your players, so I should just let you go back and practice…" Kyoko said as she stood up.

Sharp shooting pains went up her leg as soon as she stepped on her left foot, causing her to fall back down. She caught herself on the bench, and involuntarily gasped as she fell.

Tezuka instinctively put out his arms to help her, but she was already stabilized by the bench.

"Kyoko!" Tezuka said, perhaps in a tone louder than he meant to.

Kyoko felt a blush creep over her face as she realized some of the Regulars had turned to stare at her.

"S-sorry!" she stuttered. "I…just tripped, that's all! Please, go back to practice!"

A few glances between themselves later, the Regulars continued their rallies.

Tezuka stood up and helped Kyoko to her feet. She quickly let go of his hand and tried to fight off her blush. "I'm fine, I was just careless. Please, don't worry about me."

Tezuka didn't believe her. But what could he say?

"Please, go practice. I'll be fine," she persisted, ignoring the throbbing in her leg. "I'll just be over there, still in sight."

Tezuka realized he had a choice; he could either leave his position to take her to see some kind of doctor, or he could go along with her story of her being fine. Before he could make the decision, Ryoma joined them.

"Ryoma…" Kyoko muttered.

Ryoma adjusted his hat awkwardly as he spoke. "You need to go see a doctor," he said simply, glancing at Tezuka.

"Oh no, I don't need to…" Kyoko started, but was cut off by Tezuka.

"Of course she does, I was just about to ask her if she would accompany me to the hospital, since the nurse already left," Tezuka said, making the choice.

"Is that so?" Ryoma asked with a smirk.

"Yes."

"No, really, I'm just fine, see?" Kyoko said, taking another step; when she didn't feel anything she took another.

It was then she felt another wave of shooting pains in her leg.

She instinctively crouched over and gripped her knee to make the pain stop. "Ugh…" she muttered. "I don't understand…"

"Come on, Kyoko, you're in no condition to walk," Tezuka said.

"What do you plan on doing?" Ryoma asked; his eyes continuously moved to Kyoko worriedly, though he tried his best to hide it.

"Walking her there."

"She can't walk."

Without another word Tezuka leaned over, his back toward Kyoko who was still crouched over.

She turned over to him with a puzzled expression.

"Get on," he instructed.

"But Tezuka…" she started; when he turned and glared at her she hesitantly leaned over on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ryoma watched on furiously, though he did a good job at hiding it. "I'm going with you," he finally said.

"You don't need to," Tezuka said.

"I'm going with you," Ryoma repeated, glaring deep into Tezuka's eyes.

"Let's just hurry," Kyoko whined. "I know I'm heavy…"

"Not at all," Tezuka replied, breaking the glare he and Ryoma had been locked in; he turned toward the court Oishi was on. "I'm taking Kyoko to the hospital. I don't know when I'll be back…Echizen is going, too," he added bitterly.

Oishi glanced at Ryoma curiously, but nodded. "I will oversee practice. We'll visit after, Kyoko," Oishi promised with an encouraging smile. "I hope everything's okay."

"I'm sure I'm fine," Kyoko assured him with a smile. "Oh, and tell Sachi when she gets here after Track practice."

"Alright, I will."

Tezuka nodded at Oishi and turned around, carrying Kyoko with ease as he made his way out of the school, Ryoma at his side.

"I'm sorry…" Kyoko muttered, resting her chin on Tezuka's shoulder. "I don't know what I did…"

"Don't be sorry," Tezuka said.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Ryoma added.

"After you drop me off, you both have to go back to practice."

"We have to make sure it's not serious."

"Oishi said everyone's coming after, so we might as well stay there," Ryoma said with a shrug.

Kyoko sighed as the feeling of guilt washed over her. She closed her eyes as they walked along the side walk, people all around them.

She realized she didn't feel uncomfortable on Tezuka's back; she remembered that he used to give her piggy back rides when they were kids as a part of his training. She didn't weigh much, he assured her, but carrying more than his body weight around would make him feel much lighter when he played tennis.

She trained for tennis, too, but she used different methods for training, as directed by her personal trainer.

The girls' team at Seigaku wasn't competitive enough for her, so she continued her own tennis training alone for the past couple years.

Suddenly her ears picked up a quiet conversation between Ryoma and Tezuka; she realized she was so into her own thoughts that she didn't hear them talking. She wondered what they were talking about, but by the time she listened they went back to being silent.

Opening her eyes, she saw the hospital in the distance. They walked through the automatic doors and into a quiet atmosphere.

There were a few people sitting in chairs, and doctors and nurses walking in and out of swinging doors, charts in their hands.

Kyoko held her breath, unaccustomed to the smell of rubber gloves and some kind of cleaning products – or at least that's what it smelled like to her.

Tezuka walked over to a chair and leaned over. Ryoma helped Kyoko off his back and into the chair, sitting beside her.

Wordlessly Tezuka walked over to the counter and waited for a nurse. Exchanging a few words with her, she handed him a clipboard and a pen. He bowed slightly and brought the clipboard back to Kyoko.

She read through the questions, filled out the answers, and handed Tezuka back the clipboard.

He took it, returned it to the nurse, and made his way back to Kyoko and Ryoma.

Shortly after, another nurse showed them to a room in the middle of the hospital, Kyoko once again riding on Tezuka's back.

"The doctor should be with you shortly," the nurse said before walking out.

Kyoko smiled, and, when the door shut, wrinkled her nose at the new smell of the room; it was the same smell as the main room, only more concentrated.

"Not a fan of hospitals?" Ryoma asked with a faint smile.

"Hospitals are fine; I just wish they'd smell a little better…" Kyoko replied.

Ryoma nodded.

Kyoko laid back on the hospital bed, carefully lifting her legs up and setting them down. "I'm really sorry for all the trouble…" she said. "I interrupted your practice and everything…"

"It's only one day," Tezuka pointed out. "We'll both just make it up tomorrow. Right Echizen?"

Ryoma nodded in agreement, prompting Kyoko to sigh. "I'm still sorry," she mumbled.

"Just focus on getting better," Ryoma said.

Kyoko met eyes with him and nodded.

Looking back up to the ceiling, Kyoko adjusted her head on her pillow. "I wonder if everyone will come at once…" she wondered aloud, taking the time to look around the room. "It's awfully small in here…"

"I'm sure Momo-sempai will wait until Sachi leaves to offer his wishes for a speedy recovery," Ryoma said.

"I can't remember what made them hate each other so much…" Kyoko said thoughtfully.

Ryoma shrugged. "Neither can I…"

"It seems like forever ago that we all met…but it hasn't been that long really…"

"For some of us," Tezuka pointed out, referring to his and Kyoko's long time friendship.

Tezuka didn't miss the glare Ryoma gave him, but managed to avoid looking straight at it.

"That's true…Eiji and Sachi have known each other basically since they were born… and you and I have known each other for a long time…a few of the Regulars have been friends for a while, too."

"Or enemies, like Momo and Kaidoh," Ryoma reminded her.

"Yeah…" she said.

Another silent pause captured the group. The room was slightly warm and Kyoko could feel herself drift off to sleep as she remembered her first memories with the Regulars.


	41. Flashback Part One

_**Chapter Forty-One: Flashback (Part One)**_

"Come _on_! You're leaving for SIX MONTHS!" Eiji whined. "You should at least come see me get on the tennis team again!"

"The one thing I don't approve of, Eiji, is your girly game you play. It's too…girly," Sachi replied, making a face.

"PLEASE SACHI!"

"Fine, but only because a cute girl like me shouldn't walk home on her own," Sachi said, walking with him begrudgingly.

"Yes!" Eiji said, adding a fist pump to show his excitement.

At the front of the school, Kyoko followed Tezuka toward the back where the tennis courts were.

"Are you excited?" she asked him.

"For?"

"Tennis to start!"

"…I suppose…"

Kyoko sighed. "You should be more pumped!" she said, putting her hand under her chin. "Then again, you've never really been like that…but…still…"

Tezuka turned to her. "Try not to hurt yourself thinking too hard."

She looked up and smiled. "I'll do my best!" she said with a nod. "Are you friends with any of the other players?"

"I've played with the rest of the third years before. A couple of second years are trying out. And a few first years, not that any of them will make it."

"Tezuka-kun! Good luck!" the girls by the tennis courts shouted as they waved to him; the longer Kyoko stared them, the more convinced she was that their eyes resembled hearts when they looked at Tezuka.

"You seem to be very popular, Tezuka," Fuji said as he joined the two. "You're in my class, right?" he asked Kyoko. "I don't think I've formally introduced myself. I'm Fuji Shuusuke."

He held out his hand in a Western-like gesture, and Kyoko gladly took it. "I'm Kyoko, nice to finally meet you formally."

"How many people have arrived?" Tezuka asked.

"I'd say most are here," Fuji said with a smile. "Everyone is excited to play. I think it'll be fun."

Kyoko turned to Tezuka. "You should be more excited like Fuji!"

Tezuka stared at her. "Once everything is in place, I'll do my best to be excited."

"Hm…I guess that's good enough…for now."

Over by the screaming girls, Sachi made her way past them, frowning in confusion at them. "Hey, what's wrong with you? Why are your eyes not the proper shape or color?" she asked, obviously seeing the same thing as Kyoko.

"Tezuka-kun," several girls replied, pointing at him.

"Huh?" Sachi said, turning to look at Tezuka. "He's nothing special. And don't point, that's rude."

Eiji lunged at her, and covered her mouth, quickly glancing at where Tezuka, Fuji, and Kyoko were standing. "Sachi, you're not being as quiet as you believe! I think he heard you!"

At that moment Tezuka turned and glanced at Sachi and Eiji with an expressionless look on his face.

"Tezuka? What's wrong?" Kyoko asked, following his gaze. "Oh…she's in our class, I think… She's looking this way and her eyes look normal…thank goodness…"

Fuji smiled. "She is in our class," he confirmed.

Kyoko nodded. "Why are you looking at them, anyway, Tezuka?" she asked.

Tezuka adjusted his glasses slightly. "No reason."

"Hey, classmates!" Eiji exclaimed, grabbing Sachi's wrist and dragging her over to them. "Hello Fuji! Hi…uh…"

"Kyoko, right?" Sachi finished. "I heard your name called in class. I'm the fabulous SACHI!"

Eiji started clapping, and Fuji joined in the applause and added a smile.

"Hey, I like that one!" Sachi said, pointing to Fuji. "You're in our class, too, right? I don't know you, however…" she said looking at Tezuka. "Those girls do. You might want to wave at them or something. They all think you're really awesome for some reason. Which is odd because I'm right here…"

Tezuka turned to Kyoko.

She smiled back. "Normal," she said, turning back to Sachi. "Nice to meet you Sachi. I'm glad you remembered my name!"

Tezuka turned to Eiji who smiled and scratched the back of his head. "You…didn't hear anything, ne?"

Instead of answering, Tezuka continued to stare at him.

"O-kay! Anyway…so… tennis! I'm so excited!" Eiji said, jumping up and down.

Kyoko gestured toward Eiji and looked at Tezuka. "You've got a bunch of great examples," she said with a knowing nod.

"Yeah, oh fantastical Tezuka, even though I don't see it," Sachi said.

"So rude sometimes, Sachi…" Eiji said.

"I think he should hear it, I mean it must be refreshing, right? Finally having someone who isn't shooting hearts out of their eyes for you? I bet it is!"

"Sure…" Tezuka said.

"So, Sachi, what are you doing here?" Fuji asked with a smile. "I've never seen you around the tennis courts before."

"I'm spending some time with brother here," Sachi replied, putting an arm around Eiji. "Before I go off to America for half the school year."

Eiji pretended to wipe a tear away from his eye. "My little sis is growing up…"

"Kyoko is doing the exchange program as well," Tezuka said.

Kyoko blushed and glared at Tezuka before turning to Sachi. "Yeah, my parents thought it'd be better if I saw more of the world. They're always gone to different countries, too, so I decided to go for it."

"Sounds like you two are very adventurous," Fuji said with a smile. "I'd love to take pictures of the world."

"You're a photographer? Very cool," Sachi said. "Does that take priority over girly tennis or are you just like Eiji here? The only thing he likes better than tennis is brushing his teeth."

"I like puppies and kittens, too! If I could play tennis with a puppy I would be so happy…" Eiji said with a longing sigh.

Walking over, Sadaharu turned to Tezuka. "Tezuka, we should begin try-outs," he said, pushing up his glasses.

Sachi glared at him and pushed up her own glasses. Sadaharu's glasses glinted as he pushed them up again.

Sachi pushed hers up once more. "Man, I really need to get contacts…"

"It takes away all the mystery if you get contacts," Sadaharu said, pushing up his glasses.

"I disagree, I think it would be better because you wouldn't have to push up your glasses so much," Sachi replied, pushing up her glasses.

"Hmm…good point," Sadaharu said, writing in the notebook in his hands. "What's your name?"

"Magical Sachi."

Sadaharu nodded as he continued to write.

Eiji opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Sadaharu said, "Yes, Eiji?"

Eiji frowned and then raised an eyebrow. "Actually, my name is…Awesome, super cool, bestest Eiji," he said with a nod.

Sadaharu nodded and wrote something down.

"Can I see what you wrote?" Eiji asked.

Sadaharu smiled and closed his notebook before turning to Tezuka. "I suggest we start as soon as you are ready."

Tezuka nodded and turned to Kyoko.

"Don't worry, I won't get in the way or anything," she said, putting her hands up defensively.

"I wasn't going to say that…"

"Just kidding…" she said with a smile. "Well, hurry up! The whole team is waiting on you!"

Tezuka nodded and turned to Sadaharu as the two walked away.

Eiji watched Sadaharu's back with wide eyes. "What…did he…write?"

"Who cares? Can I go home now?" Sachi whined.

"I haven't even tried out yet!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Ugh, how long is this going to take?"

"All day!" he replied with a large grin.

"Euh, fine. I'll find a nice bench to sit on or something. Get comfortable. Read a book. Maybe I can figure out what makes this Tezuka so amazing," Sachi said, turning to Kyoko. "You're friends with him, Kyoko. Why is everyone so amazed by him?"

Kyoko paused and tapped her chin. "Well, he's really nice when you get to know him…and he's not just good at tennis, he's the best. Though I can tell you're not much of a fan," Kyoko said with a smile. "It's okay, everyone has their likes and dislikes…but they…" she said, pointing to the fan girls with the heart-eyes. "...have their own reasons for liking him. I don't think he knows any of them…"

"I don't dislike tennis, I just think it's girly," Sachi clarified. "Sexist, I know, but it's how I feel. It'd be like chicks playing football. Awkward."

"She's just jealous because all she can do is run fast," Eiji said.

"You're a runner?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah, I think I might make a pull for Track team Captain when I come back. Because then you get to have secret Captain meetings with the Captains of the rest of the school's athletic department," Sachi said.

"You know Tezuka is our team Captain," Fuji said.

"Eh? Really? Well, some props to him then! Apparently it's really hard to do…"

"Tezuka's very good at it, though," Kyoko said with a smile.

"He's very admirable," Fuji added.

"We'll be the best team ever! Go Regulars!" Eiji cheered.

"Who says you'll be one of them?" Fuji asked with a well intended smile.

"Eh? Of course I will! I'm Eiji!"

"I'm excited to see how everyone will do," Fuji said.

"Me, too! I hope everyone tries their best! And I hope there will be tons of surprises! Unpredictability is fun in tennis," Kyoko said with a smile.

"Well then, what are we doing here? If you guys want to watch your matches then let's go watch your matches," Sachi said, heading toward the benches.

"They're all taken!" Eiji said.

"That one isn't!" Sachi said, pointing to a bench that Momo was sitting on. "Hey, we're going to sit here, okay?"

"Uh, sure?" Momo said.

"It's 'sure Sempai.' I'm a third year," Sachi corrected him.

"Sure Sempai," Momo repeated, making room for everyone.

"Aw, he's so cute and obedient! I want him as a pet!" Sachi said, pinching his cheek.

Momo glared at her, and turned to Eiji, who pointed at himself and smiled proudly. "I'm a Sempai, too!"

"Great…" Momo muttered, turning to Kyoko.

"Kyoko works for me," she said with a smile.

"Okay," Momo said, jerking away from Sachi's hand.

"Aw…my feelings. If you'd rather, you can call me Sachi," she said, winking at him. "But you should be careful, someone could get offended if you didn't use the proper term."

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind…"

"This is Fuji. He's also a Sempai," Eiji said, gesturing toward Fuji.

"Or Fuji," Fuji said with a smile. "Are you trying out?"

"Yep! I'm going to be on the Regulars, no doubt about it!" Momo said proudly.

"Me, too!" Eiji exclaimed. "Though if it's you and me pitted against each other, I'm sorry to say I'll win!"

He gave a proud smile as Momo smirked. "We'll see about that."

"This is going to be exciting," Kyoko said.

Fuji smiled. "Tennis is always exciting."

"You two just fans?" Momo asked, pointing at Kyoko and Sachi. "Come to cheer someone on?"

"I guess Eiji?" Sachi said unsurely.

"You _guess_? Some sister you are!"

"Alright, I'm not rooting for you. I'm rooting for…Fuji, or…this new kid."

"Momoshiro. You can just call me Momo, though."

"I'm rooting for peach boy here!" Sachi exclaimed.

"…or you can call me Momo…"

"You have to vote for me, Sachi!" Eiji persisted.

"I'm sure she's voting for everyone, just like I am," Kyoko coaxed with a smile.

"Yay! I got two fans!" Eiji said, turning to Fuji.

Fuji smiled. "I'm rooting for you, too."

"Three fans!" Eiji said with a fist pump.

Sachi sighed. "Fine, I'll root for…you, Eiji…Fuji here, because he takes pictures…Momo because he's just a little guy and it's cute that his name is like peach…uh, that Tezuka guy that's so great. The one I just had a glasses pushing up contest with… No, wait, I have to have more contests with him, and if he's on the tennis team, he can't do that. So I don't want him. I want the kid with the dangly hair over there…aaaand, that guy!" she said, pointing at Kaidoh in the distance.

"No way! Don't root for Viper! That guy's a jerk!" Momo exclaimed.

"Viper?" Kyoko repeated, glancing at him. "Sounds intimidating…"

"Tch, he's not so great," Momo dismissed. "He's nothing compared to me."

Kaidoh looked over and glared at their group.

"I don't think he's too happy about that…"

"Like I care…"

"Who is the kid with the… 'dangly' hair?" Kyoko asked.

"That's Oishi, we played together last year. He's my doubles partner," Eiji said. "He must have grown those out during the summer break… He didn't have them last year."

"No way, you have a Momo and an Oishi? How great is that! Oh man, now I want a delicious peach," Sachi said.

"Hey! Don't use your names that way! It's creepy…" Momo said.

"Pish, posh," Sachi said, waving her hand dismissively.

Suddenly Sadaharu joined their group. "Fuji, you're in court three. Eiji, court four. Momo, I need some information on this first year trying out for the Regulars," he said, pointing to Ryoma.

"Hey, look, he's got fans, too!" Sachi said, pointing to Tomo, Pigtails, and Unibrow-n-gang.

"Hurray! My turn!" Eiji said, turning to Sachi. "You have to come watch!"

"I hope you two have fun," Fuji said following Eiji.

Momo stood up and stretched. "Okay."

Glancing over at Ryoma and his 'fans', Kyoko said, "For a young tennis player, he's got a lot of fans…"

"You should go check it out. He's got a nice hat…" Sachi said. "I want to steal it…"

"COME ON SACHI!" Eiji shouted.

"Coming Eiji," Sachi called out to him. "See you later, Kyoko. Momo, good luck."

With that she walked over to the courts with Eiji and Fuji.

Momo turned to Sadaharu. "I feel weird going and bothering some new kid for you, Inui-Sempai…"

"It's all for the data. It will be worth it in the end," Sadaharu replied as his glasses glinted.

Momo turned to Kyoko nervously. "It always creeps me out when he does that…"

Kyoko nodded in agreement. "Well, I can go with you, if you want…it'll be less…awkward if it's both of us?"

"Yeah, that might make it a little less weird…"

"He looks pretty nice, anyway, so I'm sure he won't run away?"

"I hope not," Momo said, as the two started over to the hat-wearing first year as he drank his Ponta.

As Kyoko looked at him, she could feel her heart going a little faster. Frowning, she shook it off, figuring she was just feeling fatigued from the sun that was beating down on everyone.

'_It's nothing_,' she said to herself. '_He's just a first year. No reason to get nervous…right?_'


	42. Flashback Part Two

_**Chapter Forty-One: Flashback (Part Two)**_

"Alright! Tennis time!" Eiji said happily. "See you when I'm a regular, Sachi!"

Wandering over, Tezuka turned to Fuji. "Fuji, shouldn't you be on the court?"

Fuji glanced at the court, then at Sachi, then at Tezuka. "It's still in use."

"You can go kick them off, I'll still be here to talk to when you win," Sachi said, grinning at him.

"Sounds good," Fuji said with a smile before leaving.

"So, I didn't see, did you win?" Sachi asked Tezuka.

"Yes."

"Well, good for you. I guess you are good then!"

"I never doubted that."

"Hmm…a little arrogant, aren't we?"

"I wouldn't say so."

"Right…" Sachi said, frowning at him. "You're kind of bad at talking to people, aren't you?"

"…"

"My point exactly," Sachi said, poking him in the stomach.

Tezuka frowned down at her. "What did you do that for?"

"I dunno, it felt like the right thing to do at the time," Sachi said with a shrug. "Maybe it would activate you, turn you into someone that can hold a conversation."

"Is that what you really think belly buttons are for?"

"Hey! It worked! I should try that on Eiji next time, maybe he'll finally shut up… So, what's your first name? I'm trying to see if anyone has a fun name or if it's just the peach boy and the delicious one."

"'Delicious…one'?"

"Yeah, Oishi!"

Tezuka stared at her for a second before answering. "My name is nothing that can be turned into one of your jokes."

Sachi snapped her fingers. "Someday then," she said, smiling up at him. "I'll read up on some good American nick-names or something…"

"You're going to America? Kyoko is as well…"

"Yeah, so I heard. Guess we'll be best buddies by the time we get back!"

* * *

Leaning to Momo, Kyoko whispered, "So what did Sadaharu mean when he said he needed information?"

Momo shrugged. "Just tennis stuff relating to everyone. He's a data freak."

"I'm sure it's not that bad…"

Momo responded by looking at her with wide eyes; Kyoko coughed.

Ryoma continued drinking as the two finally reached him.

"Hey there," Momo said, waving and smiling at him.

Putting the Ponta can down, Ryoma looked at them suspiciously.

"Umm…" Kyoko said, glancing at Momo nervously.

"Name?" Momo asked.

Ryoma stared at him.

"Do you talk?"

"Momo, that's rude!" Kyoko scolded, turning to Ryoma. "Sorry, we're trying to get…everyone's information. Name, grade, stuff like that. Just to make sure everyone's here. There was a first year that was supposed to be here, but according to the chart, he was late and didn't sign in."

Ryoma smirked.

"So I'm guessing that's you?" Kyoko persisted.

"Yeah, Ryoma Echizen. First year. Soon to be a Regular," Ryoma finally replied.

"Good luck with that!" Momo said. "A first year has never made it on the Regulars. Not even our Captain, and he's the best player on the team."

Ryoma responded by fixing his hat awkwardly.

"Actually, Momo, Ryoma is better than you think he is…"

"However good he may be…" Momo said with a shake of his head.

"Well, he's no stranger to challenges. Look in any American tennis magazine," Kyoko said.

Ryoma glanced up at Kyoko as she smirked at Momo.

"Tch, whatever…" Momo said, waving his hand dismissively. "So, anything else you wanted to tell us?"

Ryoma fixed his hat awkwardly again.

"Well, thank you for your time…sorry if we interrupted your drink," Kyoko said, glancing at the Ponta can in his hand.

Ryoma turned to Momo. "What's your name?"

Momo smiled proudly. "Momoshiro," Momo said, lifting up his chin and posing. "Your Sempai, and one of the Regulars."

"Have you played yet?"

"Well, no, but…"

Ryoma smirked and turned to Kyoko. "And you?"

"Kyoko…" she replied, blushing and smiling. "Nice to meet you."

"So…is that it?" Ryoma asked.

"Yep, be seeing you," Momo said, walking away and waving his hand over his head.

Kyoko looked over at Ryoma with an apologetic smile. "It was nice talking to you. I…hope we can become better friends, Ryoma," she said with a bow.

Ryoma nodded in acknowledgement as Kyoko turned and ran to catch up to Momo. Ryoma watched her with an amused expression barely visible on his face.

* * *

"Hey, Tezuka, do me a solid okay?" Sachi asked.

"Uh…"

"Get that kid on the team," she said, pointing to Ryoma. "I want his hat, and if he's on the team, and Eiji's on the team, that means I'm going to see him a lot."

"You'll be coming around more?" Tezuka asked.

"I'm sure Eiji will drag me along. It's not like I have much else to do, except practice my English, but that's easy."

Suddenly Eiji ran over and joined them. "Did you see that Sachi? I WON!"

"Yay Eiji!" Sachi exclaimed, giving him a hug and jumping up and down with him. "We should go out and celebrate! Special dinner tonight!"

"So, what have you been chatting about?" Eiji asked, holding out his pinkie.

"Knock it off, Eiji, you know that's not what's going on. He was just keeping me company as I waited for you, as a good gentleman should do. Thank you sir," Sachi said, bowing to Tezuka.

"You're…welcome?" Tezuka said, a little unsurely.

"When's the Fuji kid coming back? I like him, he should come to dinner with us! Same with peach boy!"

"Why would we want to invite Momo? He's a second year. We're THIRD YEARS!" Eiji exclaimed while he posed.

"You will have to get used to working with underclassman if you wish to further your tennis career at Seigaku," Tezuka reminded him.

Eiji sighed. "Yeah, yeah…"

Oishi joined their group then with a smile. "How did your match go, Eiji?"

"I won of course!" Eiji reported with a smile. "What about you Oishi?"

"I won, too," Oishi told him, high fiving his doubles partner before turning to Tezuka with a smile. "And I saw that you won, too. As expected. Oh? I don't believe we've met…" he said, turning to Sachi.

"I'm The Glorious Sachi! But you can call me Fabulosa Mushroom Princess Tank if you so please. You're the yummy one, right?"

"I…I…" Oishi stuttered as he blushed; he quickly turned to Tezuka. "Who is this?"

"Eiji's friend."

"Sister," Eiji corrected him.

"Mostly. It's complicated," Sachi explained. "I'm surprised we haven't met before, though I have heard of you."

"Oh…" Oishi said, trying to compose himself as he smiled. "Good things, I hope…"

"Of course! Only the best things!" Eiji assured him, keeping his smile cunning.

"I'm not sure if I like that face, Eiji…"

"Why not?" Eiji asked as he tried to change his smile to an innocent one.

Oishi gave him a look of disbelief.

"He said nice things, and I like your name, so it all works out!" Sachi said before leaning to Eiji. "Should we invite them to dinner with us?"

"No! Winners only!"

"Uh, I think we're winners, too, Eiji…" Oishi pointed out.

"Oh! Then yeah!"

Oishi laughed and teasingly rolled his eyes.

* * *

"There's something wrong with that kid…" Momo said, looking worriedly at Ryoma.

"He seemed nice to me…" Kyoko said; she glanced back at Ryoma as his fans went over to pester him. "Though I don't think he likes his fans…"

Momo followed her glance and shook his head. As he turned back around he realized Sadaharu was just in front of him. He jumped slightly at his sudden presence.

"What have you learned?" Sadaharu asked, pushing up his glinting glasses.

"His name is Ryoma Echizen, and he's a first year."

"He doesn't talk much…" Momo added.

"I see…" Sadaharu said, starting to write in his note book. "Ah, and Momo, it appears that we will be playing one another for the spot on the Regulars. Good luck," he added pushing up his glasses. "I have a new Penal-tea waiting for you if you lose."

"Can you even do that if I'm not a Regular…? Not like that's a worry or anything!"

Sadaharu smiled and something told Momo that he would have to drink it.

"I guess that answers my question…well, see ya!" Momo said, making his way to his court.

Kyoko watched him go with a smile. "He's funny…"

* * *

Walking back over toward Sachi's group, Fuji smiled.

"How'd you do, Fuji? You're on the team, right?" Eiji pressed excitedly.

"Yes, thank you for asking, Eiji," Fuji said with a smile.

"Good! Then you can come to dinner with us!" Sachi announced.

"I'm looking forward to it," Fuji said.

"Yeah! Go winners!" Eiji said with a smile, high fiving Fuji.

"It feels good to work your hardest, too," Oishi reminded them. "Seigaku is going to be very strong this year."

"Hey, there goes peach boy!" Sachi said, pointing at Momo who ran past. "Good luck Momo!"

"Thanks!" Momo said with a wave.

Sachi nodded. "I think he's going to be my new best friend…"

"SACHI!" Eiji exclaimed appalled.

"After you, Eiji, always after you."

"Oh, good, I was scared. Phew!"

"I doubt your sister would be so quick to replace you," Fuji said.

"Oh, she knows that I'm the best friend anyone could have! I mean, look at me!" he said, poking his cheek. "I'm adorable!"

Instead of answering, Fuji smiled at him.

Eiji quickly narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't know if I like that smile…"

Again, Fuji continued to smile.

"I like it," Sachi said. "It says 'I could be agreeing with you, or I could be plotting your demise'."

"But which one is it?"

Fuji kept his smile plastered on his face.

"Ah!" Eiji exclaimed, starting to pull his own hair in frustration.

Tezuka checked his watch, then glanced at the matches. "Some of these are running late… Sadaharu and Momoshiro should be playing already."

"Sit back and relax, Captain. Take a deep breath. We'll all be eating delicious victory food soon!" Eiji coaxed.

"There is no time to relax," Tezuka said.

Oishi smiled. "Tezuka's a good Captain, Eiji. He knows what he's doing."

Eiji pouted and crossed his arms.

Kyoko joined their group then with a smile. "I see we've already got a group forming…"

"It's the winner's group!" Eiji informed her.

Sachi turned to Tezuka. "Sure there's time to relax. Watch," she said, grabbing his wrist and dragging him over to a bench. "Now. Sit!"

"This will make it more difficult to view the matches."

"It's step one in relaxing. Once you accomplish that, I'll tell you step two."

"What's step two?"

"You have to sit down first."

"I'm not sitting down. I have to see the match."

"Fine. Then you'll never, ever know what step two is."

As Sachi began to walk away, Tezuka turned to her. "Wait."

Sachi stopped walking.

"Just…tell me step two."

Sachi turned around and smirked. "So you ARE one of those people who gets bothered by lack of information! Like I said: not until you sit."

"It's a face off," Eiji said, doing a Wild West whistle.

"You're very good at whistling, Eiji," Kyoko complimented.

"Thanks, it's one of my many talents," Eiji said with a proud smile.

"Like tennis?" Fuji asked.

"And acrobatics! And with the ladies!" Eiji said, winking at the group of girls that were gawking at Tezuka.

"Are you sure they're looking at you?"

"Of course!" Eiji said, standing in Fuji's way of seeing them.

Tezuka sighed and sat down, looking up at Sachi expectantly.

"Sweeeeet. Okay, step two is have a foofy-lu-lu drink. Now, I don't have one right now so you'll have to make do with this," Sachi said, walking over to Eiji and stealing his blue drink.

"Hey! That's my blue drink!" Eiji protested.

"Tezuka here is learning to relax. Calm down! You're defeating the purpose of relaxing with all your yelling," she scolding, handing the drink to Tezuka.

"I hate blue flavored drinks. They taste like cotton candy," Tezuka said.

Sachi gasped. "I may have to join your fan club, Tezuka, you're the only other person I know who thinks blue drinks and cotton candy are disgusting! Now, step three: take a drink, sit back and relax."

"I can't sit back; there is no back to this bench. I'll fall over."

"It's a figure of speech. Now, enjoy your nasty blue drink as you relax!"

"I'll try it some other time," Tezuka said, getting up and handing Eiji his blue drink. "Right now I have to watch these matches."

Sachi snapped her fingers. "So close. I almost had him relaxing."

Kyoko watched Tezuka walk over to the next court before turning to Sachi. "You'll get him next time, don't worry," she said with a smile.

Eiji held the blue drink close to himself protectively.

"It's okay, Eiji, you can always get another drink…" Oishi pointed out.

"This one's special! It has my name on it!" he exclaimed and held up the drink; it had his name written in Sharpie on the side.

"You have eight of those in your fridge with your name on it…" Sachi pointed out. "And a sticky note on them that reads 'Eiji's Blue Drink. Keep Away. That means you Isamu'."

"Yeah, well, this one is also special because Isamu didn't touch it! It survived his wrath!"

Sachi sighed. "Brothers…"

"Exactly!"

"Eiji…" Oishi started. "I think she meant… never mind…"

"Huh?" Eiji said, looking at Oishi confused.

Fuji smiled. "Sisters aren't that bad."

"Some aren't that bad. Others are… well…" Eiji said, pausing to glance at Sachi. "But not Sachi here! She's the best sister ever, ne? Just like I'm the best brother ever! Right Sachi?"

"You're my only brother, Eiji," Sachi pointed out.

"Nah, because I have other siblings. So they're your siblings, too!"

"I don't really talk to them much."

"Except Isamu…"

"Yeah well, that's because he's cute."

"EW! That's your brother you're talking about!"

"No, it's your brother."

"My head hurts…"

"It's probably from all the sugar in these things," Oishi said, tapping Eiji's blue drink.

"I think I'm a little confused, too…" Kyoko agreed.

"I have a brother, too," Fuji said with a smile.

"Oh? And you like him?"

Fuji nodded. "Yuuta is the best. He plays tennis, too."

"Eh? Really? Is he good?" Eiji asked.

"Very good. He goes to a different school, though, but you'll have to see him play sometime."

Tezuka walked over to Oishi. "The matches are over."

"Oh, we'd better go record everything…"

"There are more of you?" Sachi asked Fuji.

"I have a younger brother and an older sister," Fuji explained.

As he said that, Oishi and Eiji blushed.

"She's…uh, very nice," Oishi said with a smile.

"Yeah, she's given me rides before!" Eiji agreed.

Sachi turned to Tezuka. "So, who else is coming to the victory dinner?"

"Victory dinner?" Tezuka repeated.

At that moment, Takashi walked up and smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Um…hello…I wanted to record my score…" he said, motioning toward the clipboard in Oishi's hands.

"Oh, of course," Oishi said, handing him the clipboard.

Eiji turned to Tezuka. "We're throwing a party for us winners!"

"Party or dinner?" Fuji asked.

"Both! It's always the best way to do things!" Eiji said.

"That makes sense," Fuji said with a smile.

"Now that's a real smile," Sachi said approvingly. "Not an 'I'm going to kill you' smile, like the one he gave you eight seconds for blushing about his sister."

"I did no such thing!" Eiji exclaimed.

Fuji smiled at Eiji, who started backing away slowly. "I swear!"

"I should go make reservations," Sachi said, wandering off a ways and pulling out her cell phone.

Oishi took back the clipboard from Takashi and glanced at it. "Oh, you won, Takashi?"

Takashi smiled nervously. "Yes…I was able to win…"

"That's great," Oishi said with a smile as Takashi waved and walked away.

"So, we're going to a party?" Kyoko asked.

"It appears so," Tezuka confirmed.

"Parties are fun…it's a chance to get to know your team."

"And my sister! She's not part of the team, but she's still a winner! Because she's my sister!" Eiji said with a proud smile.

"Or she's a winner in her own right, Eiji," Fuji said with a smile.

"I guess…but mostly it's being my sister."

"Aw, thank you Fuji, you're too sweet," Sachi said as she joined the group once more; she pat his head. "I like your hair."

"Thank you," Fuji said.

"YEAH!" Momo exclaimed, shoving the clipboard into Oishi's face. "I'M A REGULAR!" he shouted before flexing and dancing.

"Well, that's amusing… I got our reservations," Sachi said. "I put it two hours out so everyone can make it."

Ryoma joined them then and smirked at Momo's dancing.

Oishi handed him the clipboard. "How did you do?"

Ryoma wrote his score down and looked up at Oishi. "I won."

Momo stopped in mid-dance and stared at him. "What?"

Kyoko smiled at Momo as Fuji smiled at Ryoma. "It seems we've got a very talented first year with us," he said.

Kyoko nodded and looked at Ryoma curiously, while Tezuka stared down at him with a stern expression.

"Relax Tezuka. Deep breaths," Sachi reminded him.

"That wasn't a step."

"Oh, step four: take deep breaths," she said with a smile. "Eiji? Walk me home now?"

"Fine… see you guys later!" Eiji said with a wave; he linked arms with Sachi and skipped off with her.

"So, what'd you think of everyone?" Eiji asked as they were out of ear shot. "Awesome, huh?"

"Yeah, that Fuji kid is pretty cute…"

"Fuji…" Eiji said, shaking his fist angrily.

"I liked peach boy, too. He had a nice dance. And Tezuka was…something else. How can anyone be so reserved?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Eiji exclaimed, throwing up his arms.

"ME NEITHER! Maybe I can get him to talk more at dinner…"

* * *

Looking up at Tezuka, Kyoko asked, "So how much longer are you going to stay here and practice?"

"I wasn't aware I was staying here to practice…"

"That's what you normally do, right?" she asked with a smile.

Tezuka paused thoughtfully. "No… I don't need to practice tonight," he said, pausing again. "So, we're going to this dinner thing?"

Kyoko nodded. "Why? Did you not want to go?"

"I didn't say that."

"So you do?"

"I didn't say that, either."

Kyoko sighed. "Okay, well, why don't we go back to your house and wait until we have to go?"

"Alright," Tezuka said, grabbing his bag and waving at Oishi before walking alongside Kyoko.

"So what did you think of everyone?"

"I already knew most of them."

Kyoko nodded. "I like that Sachi girl…"

When Tezuka hesitated, Kyoko looked up at him. "Don't you think she's pretty cool?"

"She's…different than a lot of girls, I'll admit that," Tezuka finally said before staring ahead expressionless.

Kyoko smiled and nodded, wondering what he was thinking about.


	43. Flashback Part Three

_**Chapter Forty-Three: Flashback (Part Three)**_

"Okay, Eiji, I'll call you when I need you to walk and come get me. Someone as cute as myself should not be walking alone," Sachi said.

'Hey, I'm cute, too!" Eiji protested.

"Yes, but I'm a cute _girl_. You don't know what sort of people are out there," she said, shaking her head.

"What if I can't get you?"

Sachi glared at him. "Oh, you'll come get me. Or else!"

"Or else…what?" Eiji asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Or else I will tell everyone about Snakinshoodle."

"Not…not Snakinshoodle!"

"That's right. So come pick me up when I call!" Sachi said before walking into her house.

Eiji stared at the door before angrily taking out his phone and dialing a number.

* * *

Sitting on Tezuka's couch, Kyoko grabbed the remote on the table in front of her and turned on the television.

Tezuka sat on the chair across from her and stared down at his folded hands.

As Kyoko flipped through the channels, she rested her chin on her palm on the couch's arm rest. "What do you want to watch?"

Tezuka continued staring down at his folded hands, seemingly oblivious to the fact Kyoko was talking to him. "Tennis? Okay…what channel is that on again?"

"What time are we going?"

Kyoko frowned and looked over at Tezuka. "In a couple hours or so… why?"

"…no reason."

Kyoko raised an eyebrow as Tezuka stared back at her.

* * *

"FUUUUJIIII! Ugh! "

"Hi, Eiji."

"Sachi…ughhhh…"

"Sister trouble?"

"You don't know the half of it!"

"How can I help?"

"Hm…" Eiji said, tapping his chin. "Will you come pick her up for the dinner party? I don't know if I'll have enough time to…get everything done…"

"You mean brush your teeth?"

"Hey! Maybe I have other plans!"

"Please shower, too."

"Well, yeah! Duh! So…you'll go get her?"

"Of course."

"Okay, I'll forward you the text message when I get it from her so you know to go get her."

"Alright. And you're sure she's okay with this?"

"Sure! She said she likes you!"

"…what?"

"Remember? You clapped at her awesomeness, and she said she liked you."

"Oh…that's right. Well, I'll see you at dinner."

"Thanks Fuji! You're the best!"

Fuji smiled and hung up.

* * *

"Okay, now…how to word this properly… 'Eiji. Time to come get me, because I can't walk alone. I'm far too cute for that. And if you don't, I'll not only hate you forever, I'll tell everyone about Snakinshoodle! The end. I hope you liked my story. See you in five.' Perfect," Sachi said, sending the message.

A few moments later, Eiji glanced at his beeping phone before reading Sachi's text. "Tch, she thinks she's cuter than me…" he mumbled, shaking his head; he forwarded the message to Fuji, then continued brushing his teeth.

* * *

Glancing down at his phone, Fuji put his shoes on and dialed a number. "Hey, Tezuka, I'm heading out now. Eiji asked me to pick up Sachi for him. I know we were supposed to walk together but-"

"I can come with you," Tezuka interrupted.

"There's no need for that… but…okay. I'll see you in a few."

* * *

"It's been five minutes! Where is he?" Sachi exclaimed impatiently; she pulled out blue prints to begin plotting revenge against her brother. "Eiji, you need to be timelier. Let this teach you a lesson."

* * *

"Who was that?" Kyoko inquired to Tezuka.

"Oh that was Fuji. He said he has to pick up Sachi because Eiji asked him to," he replied as he stood up.

"Oh, okay…we should go now then, huh?" she said smiling; she turned to her left and frowned. "Oh…I forgot my purse at home. I'd better go get that. I'll just meet you guys there."

"Alright, be careful," Tezuka said, opening the front door.

"Of course, I'll be quick, don't worry," she replied.

* * *

A knock at the door interrupted Sachi's planning, and she quickly got up to answer it. "Hey… you're not Eiji…neither of you are Eiji! Is he still brushing his teeth? Am I not more important than teeth? Nice to see you, though," she added with a smile.

"Are you ready to go?" Fuji asked.

"Yep," she replied, hiding the blueprints. "Let's head out. So is everyone coming or is just us and Eiji or…?"

"Kyoko went to get her purse so she's meeting us there," Tezuka informed her.

"I believe Oishi invited the rest of the Regulars," Fuji added with his signature smile. "It should be fun."

"Yeah! I'm pumped!" Sachi said, holding up both her hands to the two boys.

Fuji smiled and high fived her lightly.

"I was expecting more, but alright," Sachi said before turning to Tezuka.

Tezuka responded by staring back blankly.

"Come on…high fiiiiive!"

"I think you should, Tezuka…it doesn't look like she'll give up until you do it," Fuji advised.

There was another pause, and Fuji turned to Sachi. "I think he secretly wants to."

Tezuka sighed and high fived her.

"There, was that so hard?"

"Who _doesn't_ want to high five me? I'm Fantabulious Sachi!" she said putting her arms around them into a hug. "Aww, I can see it now. We're going to be the three musketeers. Just…don't tell Eiji. He'd never let it go…"

Fuji smiled. "That sounds like Eiji…"

"Can…we just go to the restaurant please?" Tezuka asked.

* * *

At the restaurant, Kyoko sat across Momo and looked around. "This place is pretty nice," she noticed.

Takashi, who stood behind the counter, rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Thanks…"

"Takashi's place serves the best food," Oishi agreed with a smile.

"I wonder when everyone else is going to get here…" Kyoko said, glancing at the door.

* * *

Sachi suddenly began to cry. "You're just trying to get away from me, Tezuka!" she sobbed, pretending to wipe tears away from her eyes.

Fuji pat her back comfortingly as they slid open the door to the restaurant.

The group already in shifted their glances to the door and saw the three standing there.

Eiji jumped up and pointed at Fuji. "What's going on? Why is she crying?"

Sachi looked up at him, her face suddenly normal. "Tezuka hates me."

"What? How could he hate you? You're _my_ sister!" Eiji exclaimed, looking at Tezuka with a disgusted look.

Fuji smiled. "We had a lovely walk here."

"Lovely?" Tezuka asked.

Kyoko looked over and smiled. "I see Tezuka is getting along well."

Ryoma opened the door, and Eiji turned and noticed him. "Hey look, it's the boy with the cute hat!"

Ryoma stared at everyone, then shut the door in front of him.

"Did...he forget something at home?" Kyoko wondered aloud.

Sachi opened the door to see Ryoma walking away. "Hey! Wrong way kid!" She ran after him and snatched his hat, knowing he would have to go get it.

"I thought it was lovely," Fuji said with a smile.

Eiji eyed Fuji suspiciously. "I don't trust that smile..."

"Eiji, you never seem to trust Fuji's smiles..." Oishi noticed.

"Do you blame me? Just look at it!" He pointed at Fuji. "It's so...suspicious..."

Fuji continued to smile.

"I don't know, that smile seems to be...nice?" Kyoko offered.

Ryoma slid open the door once more, his head no longer sporting his hat.

"Hey, look who decided to come back," Momo said with a smirk.

"...she has my hat..." Ryoma muttered.

"I'll eat it! Well, not really, I think I'd have stomach problems after that," Sachi said, turning to Fuji. "And I still like that smile. It's very...conniving."

"You'd eat a hat?" Momo asked.

Sachi thought a moment. "If it was a chocolate hat."

Momo took a moment to think. "Hmm...that sounds good..."

"Tezuka can eat it!" Sachi said, putting the hat on his head.

"...I don't wear hats," he replied simply, waiting for her to take it off.

"Hey, at least he doesn't wear bandanas," Momo pointed out.

Kaidoh, who sat on the far side of the room, hissed.

Momo leaned to Kyoko. "So lame..."

Kyoko turned to Ryoma. "You can sit here until you get your hat back," she said, pointing to the seat across from her, next to Momo.

"Hey, who said this seat was available?" Momo asked.

Ryoma smirked and sat down.

"I'm not reaching that high up again, I strained my arm," Sachi said, patting it gently before sitting down next to Eiji. "Besides, do you really want me touching your head? You seem to be a very 'no touchie' kind of guy."

"It's true, he doesn't even give super excited tennis high fives!" Eiji pouted.

"He gave me a high five, but it definitely wasn't super excited...or about tennis."

"What was it about then?" Eiji asked with a glare.

Tezuka stared at him.

"What was it?"

"..."

Eiji gasped really loudly.

"What is it Eiji?" Fuji asked.

Eiji shrugged. "I thought I saw some flicker of expression...guess I was wrong..."

Tezuka sighed.

Ryoma gathered a bunch of food on his plate as that group bickered.

Momo glanced at him. "You eat a lot, huh?"

Ryoma slightly nodded.

Momo started filling his plate. "I bet I could eat more..."

Ryoma smirked.

The two, in synch, started filling their plates with more and more sushi.

Bringing her plate over and sitting across from them, next to Kyoko, Sachi smiled. "Me too, me too!"

"You're a girl, you can't eat that much food," Momo pointed out.

"Oh trust me, I can, but it won't be cute!" Sachi said with a smile before suddenly getting serious. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Eiji walked up to Tezuka and put his face in front of the Captain's. "Trying...to find...emotion!"

"Eiji, get out of my face," Tezuka said.

"I think I saw something! Wait for it...wait for it..."

"Eiji, that's probably anger," Fuji warned.

Eiji froze, then shook his head. "No, no...that can't be it..."

Momo and Ryoma exchanged glances before looking at Sachi challengingly.

Kyoko looked around. "Does anyone know the Heimlich maneuver...?"

"No need, I've got the digestive system of a God, I will never choke!" Sachi said; she suddenly inhaled wrong and began coughing. "What I said...still stands! Breathing is in a different category!"

Sadaharu walked over. "Whoever loses has to drink my new Inui-juice!" His glasses glinted.

Eiji continued making funny concentrating face in Tezuka's. "I saw it, it'll come back, I swear! There was emotion!"

"You seem really sure of this Eiji," Oishi said, standing next to him to examine Tezuka's expression.

"He'll do it again, I swear!"

"Hm..." Fuji stood on the other side of Eiji and looked at Tezuka.

Kyoko glanced at Tezuka and laughed. "If you just show them a smile, they'll leave you alone."

"Shh! I want it to be natural!" Eiji said.

"I will not smile," Tezuka decided.

Eiji poked his nose. "That sounds like a challenge!"

"It's not..."

"You really should watch what you say, Tezuka..." Oishi said.

"Before we start, we should establish who the judges are and what the rules are," Momo announced. "That way when I win you guys can't call me on cheating." He smiled proudly.

Sachi turned to Sadaharu. "Glasses kid! You'll judge!"

He pushed up his glasses. "I will be fair." He sat down at the table.

"Wait! Sachi! Kyoko! One of you two needs to make him smile!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Later Eiji." Sachi waved him off.

"But...I've got him just where I want him! He's about to crack, I know it!"

"I don't know..." Oishi looked carefully at Tezuka. "His expression hasn't changed a bit since you started..."

Fuji nodded in agreement.

"No! I swear I saw it! ...Kyoko! Come help!"

Kyoko leaned around Sachi to look at them. "I can't help...I'm over here making sure no one chokes..."

"On your mark..." Momo started, pointing to Sadaharu. "Get set..."

"...you may proceed," Sadaharu finished.

"That means go!" Sachi amended.

With that, the three began their food race.


	44. Flashback Part Four

_**Chapter Forty-Four: Flashback (Part Four)**_

"I swear! He'll do it again! We just need to wait for the girls to come over, they'll make him smile," Eiji promised Fuji and Oishi who carefully watched Eiji try to make Tezuka smile.

"I don't know if that'll work..." Fuji said.

"It will!"

"Yeah, I think I agree with Fuji," Kyoko said.

Fuji shook his head.

"You know...I think I might know something that will work..." Kyoko said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

Eiji quickly turned to her. "What?"

"Well...let me tell Fuji, he's the only one who could do it..."

Fuji curiously walked over to her and she whispered something to him.

"...what?" Eiji exclaimed, the anticipation killing him.

"Just keep staring at him..." Fuji said.

Eiji frowned but turned to Tezuka and stared.

"Now open your mouth, but don't break eye contact with Tezuka."

Eiji nodded and opened his mouth and Fuji put a wasabi roll in his mouth.

"HOLY MOTHER OF BUTTERED TOAST!" Eiji spit it out and tried to scrape the burning sensation off his tongue as he ran around looking for water.

"Did it work?" Oishi asked hopefully, looking at Tezuka.

Tezuka had the faintest and slightest smile on his face.

"It worked, Eiji, it worked!" Oishi cried happily; but Eiji was too busy looking for water to notice.

Oishi shook his head.

Kyoko sat back and smiled proudly. "I knew it would work."

Fuji smiled. "I don't know if Eiji thinks it's worth it, though..."

"You didn't take a picture? SAAAAACHIIII!"

Meanwhile, Sadaharu examined Sachi, Momo and Ryoma who were in the middle of a food-eating contest.

Sachi looked up from her empty plate of sushi. "DONE! And what Eiji?"

"Make Tezuka smile, I missed it!"

Sachi sighed and stood up, walking over to Tezuka. "Smile, please? Because we both hate blue drinks and cotton candy?" she smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes.

Eiji looked super excited as he moved closer.

Tezuka's eyes slightly widen as they both moved closer and closer to him.

"Does that count as an emotion?" Fuji asked.

"No, he has to smile! Just look at this face!" Eiji said, pointing to Sachi. "How can you resist that?"

"That counts as some sort of emotion. I just don't know what kind," Oishi said, inspecting Tezuka's expression.

"Yeah, but Eiji asked me to get him to smile. Not widen his smiles, that's not difficult." Sachi widened her eyes before turning to Oishi. "See!"

"Yes..." Oishi replied, a little freaked out by the wideness of her eyes.

"Anyway..." She turned back to Tezuka. "Okay, other reasons you should smile...uh...old people that pretend to be senile so they can get away with stealing chocolate bars...and...books and...Appletini!"

"Apple...tini?" Tezuka repeated.

"Sounds fruity..." Eiji remarked.

Momo frowned as he finished his plate of food. "I...don't know how she beat us..."

Ryoma shrugged. "I wasn't really trying."

"Don't lie! You were too trying!" Momo glared at Sachi. "Somehow she cheated..."

Sadaharu finished his notes and closed his notebook. "She won it fair and square according to my calculations." He pushed up his glasses.

Sachi sighed. "I didn't want it to come to this, though I do want to see you smile as well..." Sachi got down on one knee and took Tezuka's hand in hers. "Tezuka with a first name that I don't know but can't be turned into a joke like the yummy Oishi or peach boy Momo, please smile, for the good graces of everyone in this room who is dying to see your brilliant smile."

Momo inspected Sachi's empty plate and looked under the table. "There isn't a hatch..."

Sadaharu poured two glasses of his Inui-juice. "Drink up." He grinned as his glasses glinted.

Ryoma and Momo exchanged glances.

"You know..." Ryoma started.

"...I forgot something at home..." Momo continued.

"So we'd better..."

"...go get them!" the two finished in synch, as they got up to run. They were caught by their collars by Sadaharu who smiled and quickly poured the glasses in their mouths.

The two were soon dropped to the floor.

"They were so young..." Kyoko said sadly.

Tezuka stared at Sachi. "I don't see any need to smile. And I don't understand this 'good graces'."

"You should smile because I'm here and that's something to smile about, right?" Sachi looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes. "And look! I'm holding your hand!" She held his hand up to his face.

Fuji looked at Momo and Ryoma before looking up at Sadaharu with a smile. "I like that one."

Sadaharu poured another glass. "Would you like to try some?"

Sachi turned away from Tezuka for a second to point at Fuji. "That one was a sadistic smile, just in case no one could tell." She looked back at Tezuka with pleading eyes.

"You have to teach me how to tell!" Eiji said.

"You'd still mistrust them all, Eiji," Oishi pointed out.

Tezuka sighed and forced an incredibly small smile for a split second, before going back to his expressionless face.

Fuji smiled. "There we go."

"What? I missed it again? Gahhh!" Eiji exclaimed, pulling at his hair.

"Thank you," Sachi said, letting go of Tezuka's hand. "You can have that back now. And Eiji, I'm sorry you missed it but I'm not doing that again. I'm afraid his heart-eyed fan girls would come kill me." She took a moment to look around for them.

Fuji took a sip of Sadaharu's drink. "It's tangy." He handed back an empty glass.

"Wait, is that the same stuff that made Peach boy and hat kid pass out? Are you some kind of wizard?"

Fuji smiled. "I like to think of myself as...normal."

"That smile is not normal! Neither is that!" Eiji pointed at Sadaharu's drink. "Neither is that!" He pointed at Ryoma and Momo lying on the floor. "Actually...that is normal, since anyone normal would've passed out...which brings us to...you!" he pointed at Fuji.

Fuji smiled.

Kyoko walked over and tried to wake up Ryoma and Momo. "Should someone call a doctor...?"

"They'll be fine," Sadaharu remarked, writing down the effects of the juice.

"I LOVE that smile!" Sachi said about Fuji's smile. "So cynical!"

Oishi looked at Tezuka. "Was that a tiny frown?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Oishi frowned. "Alright..."

Sachi turned to Sadaharu. "Can I try that beverage?"

Sadaharu smiled and his glasses glinted.

"S-Sachi, I don't know if that's a good idea," Kyoko said.

Fuji poured her a glass and promptly handed it to her with a smile. "It's delicious. I recommend it."

"Eh? Did I hear you say Tezuka's frowning now?" Eiji asked, rushing over to Tezuka.

Tezuka glared at Eiji.

"Well _that's_ not new," Eiji said. "But a frown..."

"Thanks!" Sachi took a glass and drank it. "Hm...I feel woozy..."

Fuji smiled. "It should go away after a while. I don't feel it all now."

"So he did feel it before! He's not all inhuman!" Eiji exclaimed.

"I'm all human, Eiji." Fuji smiled.

"That smile says otherwise!"

"I don't think I enjoy this too much," Sachi said, starting to tilt over before catching herself.

"Did you really think I wasn't human?" Fuji asked.

"I thought you were...something else...you're not like a normal person!"

"And you are, Eiji-sempai?" Momo asked with a laugh.

"Of course not! But I'm abnormal in the super cute, the ladies be all-upon way!"

"Tch..." Momo said.

"Got something to say?" Eiji asked.

"No of course not, Eiji-sempai," Momo said with a wave of his hand.

Eiji narrowed his eyes, then turned to Tezuka. "So...what's it going to be?"

"The same as it always is," Tezuka replied.

"But I want to win for once!" Eiji said.

Oishi shook his head.

"Sachi...going down..." She stumbled again.

"Interesting...she's holding herself quite well with this one," Sadaharu said, scribbling something in his notebook.

"It's because she's too stubborn! No losing, Sachi!" Eiji cheered.

"Mmmnot losing..." Sachi said, leaning against Tezuka. "I always stand like this..."

"I don't believe so..." Tezuka remarked.

"Maybe she...stands like this at home!" Eiji said.

"Does she?" Oishi asked.

"No...I mean...maybe!"

Fuji smiled. "I think she's doing very well."

He was met with a room full of "yeah right" looks.

"Well, did anyone else want to see if they could do any better?" Fuji asked.

Sadaharu held up the pitcher, and everyone shrunk away.

"Eiji, I think it's go home time, my mom will be...worried..." Sachi said.

"Wait, her mom or your mom?" Oishi asked looking at Eiji.

"Her mom, her parents are in town this week. Only problem is she lives far away from me..." Eiji looked around at everyone hopefully. "Does anyone else live closer?"

Fuji raised his hand.

Eiji frowned. "No you don't."

"I don't mind the walk." Fuji smiled.

"If we're going nowhere, I'm napping," Sachi said, crawling under a table and falling asleep.

"Anyone have a sharpie?" Momo asked.

Oishi shook his head.

"We shouldn't do that...it'd be mean," Kyoko said.

Momo glared at her. Fuji gave Momo a disapproving look.

"I can take her home," Tezuka said.

The room went silent.

"...I live closer than Fuji does..."

Still nothing.

Momo leaned to Ryoma with wide, amazed eyes. "The captain speaks!"

"I wish you wouldn't," Ryoma said, fixing his hat.

"H-hey! I'm your sempai!"

Tezuka stared at everyone. "Unless someone lives closer."

Sadaharu opened his notebook. "Tezuka is correct, he lives closest."

Kyoko glanced at Sadaharu then leaned to Momo. "You're right, I kind of think this data thing is a little much..."

Momo nodded with wide eyes.

"Then I'll take her," Tezuka said, standing up.

"I think I saw a little emotion there!" Eiji pointed at Tezuka's face.

"Oh...do you want me to go with you to help out?" Fuji asked with a smile.

"With what?"

Fuji shrugged. "She obviously can't stand on her own."

Tezuka glanced at the table she was lying under. "I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"I dunno, she eats a lot, she might be heavier than you think!" Eiji said.

"I highly doubt the captain is miscalculating her weight and his strength. The issue here will be removing her from under the table," Sadaharu said.

"I can just lift up the table," Momo said flexing.

"Then all the rest of the food would slip off," Ryoma pointed out.

"Well, how do you think we should do it then?"

"Slowly ease her out from under it?"

"Or...we could wait until she wakes up...?" Kyoko suggested.

"That could take all dayyyy! Takashi has to close eventually!" Eiji whined.

Suddenly Sachi sat up. "Ow!" She rubbed her head. "Why am I under a table?"

Everyone pointed to Sadaharu.

"Oh, was it your beverage? Awesome! What time is it? My mom wants me home at nine..."

"Turn around time, four minutes," Sadaharu observed, writing in his journal.

"It's eight fifty nine! You'd better run home!" Eiji exclaimed.

"No, it's-" Oishi was cut off by Eiji covering his mouth.

"Hurry up Sachi, you're going to be late!"

Tezuka sat down quietly.

"Why are you trying to get rid of me Eiji?" Sachi asked.

"No reason..." Eiji checked Tezuka's face for emotion.

"I'm hurt..."

"Uhh-huh..." Eiji glanced at Tezuka.

Tezuka glanced at Eiji.

Eiji stared back, searching for emotion.

Oishi sighed. "You can't continue this all night, Eiji..."

"Not with that kind of attitude!"

"Looks like you'll have to walk Eiji home instead, Tezuka," Oishi said with a smile.

"I don't live near Eiji, I live near Sachi," Tezuka muttered.

"Hey! I'm Sachi! You're walking me home? Cool! Let's go!" Sachi zoomed out the door before poking her head back in. "Come ON! I need to move! That drink gave me super energy!"

"Yay for powernaps!" Eiji happily exclaimed.

Tezuka stood up a little unsurely, and followed Sachi out.

Ryoma smirked.

"What an interesting couple they'd make," Momo said.

"You really think so?" Kyoko asked.

"Well, yeah, they're complete opposites."

"Hm...I guess so...they do have stuff in common though..."

"Couple?" Fuji repeated with a frown. "I don't see it."

"Opposites attract, right, Oishi?" Eiji asked.

Oishi blushed. "H-how would I know that?"

* * *

Sachi grinned at Tezuka.

"What?"

"You liked holding my hand. I could see it in your face. You want to do it again, don't you? That's why you're walking me home."

"I didn't say that."

"Oh, well, then sorry for holding your hand."

"I didn't say that either."

"Alright, alright," Sachi said holding her hand out. "If you want to hold it, go ahead. I won't tell, promise."

She winked at him.

Tezuka suddenly realized he had a big decision to make, and looked at her a little torn.

* * *

"...just agree with me!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Okay, then, yes," Oishi said.

"Thank you!" Eiji threw his arms up. "Was that so hard?"

"...no?"

Eiji nodded.

"I...still don't see it," Fuji said.

Eiji turned and smiled at him. "Just you wait. They're probably talking about couple-y stuff as we speak!"

"If my predictions are accurate, which they usually are, I would say Sachi is on a 'rant' about school and her life and her friends, not letting Tezuka get a word in edge-wise," Sadaharu announced. "However, I don't think Tezuka would particularly mind this because he wouldn't have to come up with a conversation topic."

"That sounds more accurate," Fuji agreed.

Momo looked over and admired Ryoma's hat."Maybe I should get a hat..."

Ryoma pulled his hat down over his eyes.

"You like his hat?" Kyoko asked, glancing at it. "It is a nice hat. Sachi was talking about how she likes it, too..."

"What?" Momo frowned. "Well, you know what? I'll get an even better hat than that, just you watch!"

"Good luck with that," Ryoma muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

* * *

"It's cool if you don't want to hold it," Sachi said, lowering her arm. "I just thought you looked happier earlier is all."

"Hnn..."

* * *

"Hat-off is ON!" Eiji declared.

"Does that even make sense?" Oishi asked.

"It makes about as much sense as Sachi and Tezuka together," Fuji said.

"That's an...interesting way to put it..." Oishi remarked.

Fuji nodded, and Oishi glanced at him suspiciously.

"We should all get going soon, huh? It's getting kind of late..." Kyoko said, glancing out the open door.

"Well...thank you all for coming today..." Takashi said, rubbing the back of his head with a smile.

Everyone said their thanks to Takashi and made their way outside.

"I'd better hurry home since I'm walking alone tonight," Kyoko said with a smile.

"You can't do that!" Eiji exclaimed. "Who lives closes to Kyoko?"

Sadaharu flipped through his pages. "It's a tie between Momo and Ryoma. Though from the direction we would be walking in, Momo would be dropped off first, then Kyoko, then Ryoma would walk the last few blocks himself." He pushed up his glasses.

"Problem solved!" Eiji brushed off his hand. "And you all have me to thank for it!"

* * *

"That's my house!" Sachi said, pointing down the street. "You can be done walking me home now, if you'd like?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes?"

"No, I'll walk you all the way."

"Alright then!"

Suddenly Tezuka reached for her hand.

Sachi grinned. "Ten points for me!"

Tezuka stopped just as he was about to grab her hand. "Ten...points?"

"Yes, ten points. I was right, you totally wanted to hold my hand! It _did_ make you smile a tiny, itty witty bit. It's okay, I already said I won't tell."

Tezuka sighed and grabbed her hand, continuing to walk toward her house.

* * *

"Oh no, you don't have to walk me home..." Kyoko said.

Ryoma adjusted his hat. "It's no problem."

"Aww," Eiji hugged Ryoma. "How cute..."

"Eiji-sempai...get off me..."

"But...you're just a little...chibi..." Eiji's eyes suddenly widened with excitement. "Chibi-chan!"

"Chibi...chan?"

"It's perfect! Nya, Chibi-chan? Now go, go, off with you! Walk her home and be cute!" He put one arm around Ryoma's neck and the other around Kyoko's.

"How am I supposed to walk with your arm around my neck?"

Eiji laughed. "You're so funny, Chibi-chan." He took his hat off and ruffled his hair.

Ryoma snatched it back and put it on his head, turning to Kyoko. "Let's go."

Kyoko nodded.

"Don't forget about me!" Momo said.

"Momo! Can't you see it's a romantic moment?" Eiji exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Momo asked.

"Just look! Chibi and Kyoko, love forever! I can sense it, even greater than Sachi and Tezuka's. Relationships, that's my fifth sense."

"Eiji..." Oishi said.

"What?"

Oishi sighed. "Never mind..."

* * *

"So do I get to know your first name now?" Sachi asked.

"I already said it can't be one of your jokes," Tezuka replied.

"I know that. Just tell me."

Tezuka sighed. "Kunimitsu."

"Kunimitsu, huh?" Sachi tapped her chin. "I like it, I'm sure it'll result in a lovely nickname someday."

"I hope not..." Tezuka muttered.

Sachi pouted. "Aww, now I'm a sad panda..."

"Why?"

"You don't like nicknames. Okay, my house now," Sachi said, pointing to the house they were standing in front of. "So...I'll see you at school? Kyoko and I are there for about a month before we got to go to America, so..."

Tezuka nodded. "Goodnight."

"Night!" Sachi waved before walking inside.

* * *

"Now, go on you two!" Eiji glanced at Momo. "Well, three, but two!" He smiled and shooed them.

Kyoko leaned to Ryoma as they started walking. "Do you know what he was talking about?"

Ryoma shook his head. "It's Eiji-sempai, try not to get too worked up over it..."

Momo leaned to Kyoko. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Uh...nothing..."

Momo crossed his arms. "Why do I feel like the third wheel...?"

"Are you sure you are? You guys seem to already have a good friendship, so it's me who's the third wheel," Kyoko said with a soft laugh.

"What? Me? Friends with a first year? No way!" Momo exclaimed.

"Tch, who said I'd want to be friends with you, anyway?"

"Hey! You'd be lucky to be friends with me!"

"Would I?" Ryoma asked, looking up at him.

Momo challenged his gaze. "There's only one way to settle this..."

"Tennis?"

Momo nodded. "You, me, tomorrow, school tennis court, be there."

"Well...we do have practice tomorrow, so..."

"After practice then!"

Kyoko glanced at her phone when she heard it beep. It was a text from Eiji, saying "Aww yeah! It's on now!"

* * *

"Why are you sending that?" Oishi asked as he read the text over Eiji's shoulder.

"My fifth sense is telling me something is going down," Eiji said with a nod. "Something near Kyoko."

"Eiji, do you have Sachi's number?" Fuji asked.

"Yes...why?"

"In case she needs someone to walk her to school tomorrow."

Eiji waved his hand. "Let boyfriend Tezuka do that!"

"He's not her boyfriend," Fuji said.

"Not yet~ It's just a matter of time!"

"...well...I might as well give her the option. You wouldn't want your sister to walk alone if Tezuka is busy, would you?"

Eiji tapped his chin. "Hm...I guess you've got a point..."

"Hmm..." Sadaharu muttered as he wrote in his notebook.

"What are you writing, Inui?" Fuji asked with a smile.

"Oh nothing." His glasses glinted.

"It's a contest of evil! There are contests going on everywhere tonight! It's overwhelming!" Eiji started tugging at his hair.

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest? You look tired," Fuji said.

"Yeah..." Eiji's shoulders slumped. "I guess so...but what happens if I miss something?"

"I'm sure we'll all text you with the latest." Fuji smiled.

"Okay..." Eiji turned to Oishi. "I'd better get a text from you telling me about everything!"

"Me? Why me?"

Eiji tapped his head before tapping Oishi's. "Doubles partners. It's a bond thicker than tomato soup."

"I agree with Fuji, you need your rest."

Eiji backed away slowly while pointing from his head to Oishi's. "You know it to be true!"

Oishi waited until Eiji was looking away before rubbing his head.

Fuji smiled. "A tight bond, I see."

Oishi flashed his own smile. "Yeah...I guess so..."

Suddenly Eiji turns back around from the distance and shouts, "Tomatoooooo soooooooup!"

"Then again..." Oishi muttered; Fuji smiled.


End file.
